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FLORIDA NEWS

Spidey's been busy busy busy. I was called away to Florida on some unexpected business and while I was there I decided to do a little research into their web. I knew it would turn into quite a project - just like Texas - or any other state for that matter. I may as well share the information since I have it.

The HSUS coalition of the Florida Federation of Humane Societies began way back in the 1960's. Much of the groundwork for the grassroots federation began in Florida and California.  The original Federation was located in Bradenton, FL (EIN 59-2116518) on Cortez Rd. Records indicate that the organization is now inactive.

In the past couple of years, many of the old state based federations have gone national. The National Federation of Humane Societies  (EIN 74-3180037) based in Washington, D.C., has Wayne Pacelle as one of its directors and he is quite proud of the fact that HSUS recently arranged a corporate liason with the SPCA Wildlife Care Center of Broward County, Florida.  This center is the fifth largest animal care center of the HSUS.  The local Florida grassroots has morphed into other networks which will be covered later.

Briefly, the National Federation of Humane Societies (NFHS) 2009 Executive Officers are as follows:
Steve Putnam, Executive Director was the previous VP of business development and corporate relations at HSUS. Robert A. Downey, Chairman of the Board. His on the SAWA Society of Welfare Administrators BOD and is a past VP. Downey has been serving as Capital Humane Society's (Nebraska) executive director since January of 1984, and he also served on the National Companion Animal Advisory Group to the HSUS for four years. Sharon Harmon, President. is the executive director of the Oregon Humane Society.  Sarah J. Hayes, Secretary, is CEO of the Monroe County Humane Association in Bloomington, Indiana, Pam Carey, Treasurer is with PAWS in Chicago, Illinois.

The 2009 BOD include: Christopher Agostino, Humane Society of Broward County in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Their board of trustees include Marti Huizenga and Al Sorensen.

John Aleshire is the exec director of the Humane Society of Indianapolis, Indiana. Barbara Carr, executive director of the Erie County SPCA in Tonawanda, NY also served eight years with the National Companion Animals Advisory Group (NCAAG).  Janelle Dixon, is CEO for the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, MN.  Lisa LaFontaine is with the Washington Humane Society in D.C. She was the previous CEO of the Monadnock Humane Society in southwestern New Hampshire and has been the  President of the New England Federation of Humane Societies Board of Directors since 2005.

Jane McCall - Dubuque Regional Humane Society in Dubuque, Iowa. She co-authored the Asilomar Accords with Rich Avanzino, President of Maddie’s Fund.  Elizabeth McCorkle is employed by St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ. She is also an executive member of SAWA (the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators). Cal Morgan - President and CEO of Michigan Humane Society in Southfield, MI.

Robin Robertson Starr is the  executive director and CEO of Richmond SPCA in Richmond, VA. Prior to becoming the executive director, Robin was a practicing attorney.  She is a member of the board of directors and serves on the executive committee of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies. Robin is a member of the Virginia State Bar and SAWA.  Angie Wood is Director of Operations for Naperville Area Humane Society in Naperville, IL

Member Organizations of the NFHS include A Refuge for Saving the Wildlife, Inc., Animal Humane Society, Animal Care League, Animal Lovers League, Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Animal Welfare Society, Asheville Humane Society, Californian Animal Control Directors Association, Cleveland Animal Protective League, Colorado Federation of Animal Welfare Agencies, Dumb Friends League, Greenhill Humane Society, Hawaiian Humane Society, House Rabbit Society, Humane Society of Kent County, Humane Society at Lollypop Farm, H.S. of Memphis & Shelby Co, Illinois Animal Welfare Federation, Norfolk SPCA, North County H.S. & SPCA, Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, Peoria H.S., Potter League for Animals, Richmond SPCA, Sacramento SPCA, Salem Animal Rescue league, San Francisco SPCA, Southeast Area Animal Control Authority, Southern Oregon H.S., SPCA Cincinnati, SPC Los Angeles, SPCA for Monterey County, SPCA Tampa Bay, SPCA of Texas, Tails H.S., Washington Animal Rescue League, Wayside Waifs H.S., Wisconsin H.S.

Marching right behind HSUS, et al. is the ALDF - Animal Legal Defense Fund.  Pamela Frasch serves as animal cruelty director for the National Animal Legal Defense Fund said that the number of schools offering animal law courses has trippled as well as the states that have legislated animal cruelty a felony.  Frasch of Portland, Oregon, teaches beginning and advanced animal law at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College.  According to her, animal law "has exploded" in the past decade. In 1999, she co-authored the first casebook for law schools on the subject, Animal Law.

"Florida was way ahead of the pack and unusual in providing compensation to owners of pets negligently or deliberately harmed or killed," said Joyce Tischler, executive director of the Petaluma, California-based ALDF. A lawyer, Tischler co-founded ALDF in 1979. In the past decade, the number of ALDF chapters in law schools or other student groups has grown from about 12 to 2,000.

"The next generation of lawyers and judges won't find this area of law so unfamiliar, and it won't be something to laugh at," Tischler said. "Part of our mission is to mainstream animal law and do with animal law what was done with environmental law." She said ALDF refers cases to its 200 lawyers around the country.

"Animal rights represents the last frontier in the natural evolution of the law, from slavery to unemancipated women and now to the ultimate underdog – animals," said Dr. Fred Louis Cohen, a practicing West Palm Beach neurosurgeon, who earned his law degree from Nova Southeastern University in 1999. He practices animal law part-time with the Roberts Law Firm of West Palm Beach.

So, the next place I decided to look was at the Florida Bar Animal Law Committee.  Bingo! The following are brief bios of just a few of the members, but it will give you some idea of the animal rights inroads that have been made in Florida.

Gilbert Russell Panzer, Boca Raton, Palm Beach County. He is a contributor to and supporter of Animal Law (Lewis & Clark Law School) along with the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Animal Protection Litigation Section of the HSUS.

Phyllis Gallub Coleman, Fort Lauderdale, Broward County has had articles published in the ADLF Animal Law Review. She also teaches ADLF sponsored law courses at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.

Melissa Ann Cordon , Tampa Hillsboro is the owner of Animal Law Attorneys, a law firm dedicated to the practice of Animal and Pet Law. Melissa began her legal career as an Assistant Attorney General in Tampa. She has extensive knowledge of all facets of civil practice, and is licensed to practice throughout the state of Florida and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Memberships include the Animal Law Committee of the Florida Bar;  Animal Legal Defense Fund and the American Veterinary Medical Law Association.

Ralph A DeMeo ,Tallahassee, Leon County is a shareholder of Leon County Humane Society and on the Tallahasee Animal Shelter Advisory Board. He teaches a FSU Course - Pets ad Litum - where students perform legal research for the goal of improving animal welfare.

Geoffrey Charles Fleck ,Gainesville, Alachua Co. Fleck is an assistant state attorney in Florida and  is passionate about prosecuting animal cruelty and fighting cases.

He is quoted in the Gainesville MagazineM/u> as saying:  “After being a prosecutor for a while, I came to realize to my utter dismay that cruelty cases were never being sent for felony prosecution and, instead, that ninety-nine percent of them never made it to our office even as misdemeanors,” he says. “The animal control folks were so discouraged they merely issued meaningless warnings and citations. Those few cases that made it to our office were routinely treated with no priority, and the defendants were offered deferred prosecutions, which essentially means ‘please don’t do it again.’ I found that to be utterly unacceptable.” In response, Fleck instituted a policy that he was to review all cruelty/neglect/ fighting cases that came to his “intake” division, or to any misdemeanor lawyer, before a final charging decision was made. “I also talked to and met with Animal Services to encourage more aggressive action on their part, and I promised more aggressive action on mine,” he says. “Well, within a month or two, I became inundated with criminal cruelty cases, almost all of which I deemed appropriate for felony prosecution. Fleck says that Florida statutes on cruelty are generally poorly written and unclear, but he has been routinely getting significant jail and prison sentences. . . . I always add a long probation with the special condition that the offender not possess, own, or cohabitate with any animals,” he explains. “The support I’ve received from the judges, to my surprise and delight, has been overwhelmingly positive. Juries are hugely responsive to these cases, too.”

Brent Alan Gordon , Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County is on theBoard of Directors - Humane Society of Pinellas County

Maggie Jo Hilliard, Atlantic Beach, Duval County. In her first job as a lawyer, at the State Attorney's Office, Maggie Jo was an Assistant State Attorney for Duval and Clay Counties where she obtained trial experience and developed a passion for assisting victims and animals. 

Margaret Rose Hoyt, Oviedo, Seminole Co.   Speaking engagement: Animal Law Barry University College of Law - Animal Law 2009.

Virginia Iglesia ,Office on Park Avenue, New York.  Virginia is also eligible to practice in Florida U.S. District Court for the Souhern District of Florida and was a Federal Law Clerk in 2007 - 2008.

Shelley Jean Kravitz , Miami is a Miami-Dade County Judge

Fred Martin Kray, Gainesville, Alachua Co.  He specializes in Animal Law and teaches courses on it.  Check out this interesting article.

The Committee also held its annual meeting and seminar in Orlanda, titled “Animal Law Issues Affecting Florida Practitioners” where he taught "Pet Store Litigation: Defective Puppies and Puppy Mill Cases.”  Other subjects included "Animal Law and Legal Malpractice: The Necessity to Understand Animal Law and How It Relates to Your Practice” by Steven M. Wise, a 25-year animal law practitioner and author of Rattling the Cage, Drawing the Line, and Though the Heavens May Fall.  Wise is also an adjunct animal law professor at the Harvard Law School, Vermont Law School, John Marshall Law School, and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Other segments of the seminar included Animal Law and the First Amendment: Animal Abuse Protest Cases, Florida Equine Law: The Proper Treatment of Florida’s Horses – A Matter of Course, Of Course?, “Dangerous Dog Litigation and Practicing Animal Tort Law: Practical Considerations for Animal Law Practitioners.

The 2008 Florida Bar Meeting, presented by the Animal Law Committee, in Boca Raton, billed as The Nuts and Bolts of Practicing Animal Law Profitably included such topics as Recovering Attorney's Fees in Animal Law Cases, The Nuts and Bolts of Class Actions and Animal Law and Animal Trusts and Estate Planning.

Mindi Beth Lasley , Tampa, Hillsboro Co I am a former prosecutor with the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office. I started her law practice in 2005 which has significantly grown to the extent that she now has an associate attorney and 5 other employees. Mindi handles family law cases and quipped, "animal cruelty and domestic violence go hand in hand." In her free time, she volunteers several hours a week assisting animal welfare charities.

Marcy I. LaHart , Crawfordville, Wakulla Co.  She lectures on various topics including puppy mills. LaHart did represent a dog (and its owner?) against the Port Lucie Humane Society so she can't be all bad.  LaHart also demanded $100,000 from the Miami-Dade County police department's animal shelter over the claimed wrongful death of her client's 5-year-old cat, Winnie.  Her passion is to protect animals.  One account stated that Lahart owns five dogs and four cats. Marcy represented client in the well known Wizard of Claws case.

Katherine Marie Lockett , Orlando, Orange County is the Manager, Animal Services, Community and Environmental Services on Conroy Rd.

Steven Mark Logan , West Palm Beach , Palm Beach County is a former Prosecutor in Broward County, Florida. His private practice emphasizes criminal defense (except animal abuse) and he also practices Family Law and Animal Rights.

Aliki A Moncrief , Tallahassee , Leon Co is an activist and attorney for Earthjustice where one of his passions is to protect sharks from the fishing industry. Moncrief is also an  Environmental Health Program Staff Attorney.  She is a 1999 Harvard Law School graduate, where she was an active member of the public interest and environmental community. Moncrief was a legal intern with The Wilderness Society and Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and  also worked for the Massachusetts State Legislature Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture.  Before leaving Massachusetts, Moncrief taught an undergraduate course on environmental law and policy at Boston College. She is admitted to practice in the State of Florida and in the Northern and Southern Federal Districts of Florida.

Carla Jane Oglo, Tallahassee, Leon Co. Oglo is with the *Florida Prosecuting Attorney Association and works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the General Counsel of the Florida Department of Health Office.  Assistant General Counsel, Carla Oglo, gave a presentation on “Penalties for Fish and Wildlife Violations” to the Animal Law committee at an Annual Conference of the Florida Bar in Orlando

*The Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (FPAA) is a nonprofit corporation whose members are the 20 elected State Attorneys and over 1900 Assistant State Attorneys created to serve the needs of prosecutors. The primary functions of the Association office are education through seminars, publications and technical support.

Elissa Pearl-Hulnick, Fort Lauderdale, Broward County was the registered agent for the Animal Rights Alliance USA in Lake Worth.  (the website is now inactive and the organization has most likely become a new group)

Timothy William Ross, Davie, Broward County was once an attorney for for Nanci Alexander's Animal Rights Foundation regarding the Disney Animal Kingdom.

Sandra K Wolkov, Fort Lauderdale, Broward County is with the Humane USA Florida Chapter.  Steering Committee members include Nanci Alexander, founder of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, founder Heather Veleanu, Diane Watchinski - Director of Ethical Compliance -Wildlife Care Center, Howard and Carole Baskin - Big Cat Rescue, Michelle Harris - aliveandwell.tv and Pam Huizenga - daughter of Waste Management Mogul Wayne Huizenga.

In fact, the Humane USA Florida is the reincarnation of the dead HSUS federation.  We have gone full circle on this tiny segment of the web.  As always, there is so much more, so stay tuned.