Scrutinize statutes, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Scrutinize statutes. That is my watchword as a Fairfax criminal lawyer. A statute at first blush may seem to criminalize what it does not. That is underlined by Terry Eugene Michel’s 2-1 Virginia Court of Appeals reversal of his animal cruelty felony conviction. Michel v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. 0338-24-3 (Va. App. 2025) (unpublished). As an aside, my support for the reasoning and result in Michel underlines that my advocacy for criminal defendants does not mean that I advocate their behavior. I abstain from eating land and sea animals because I believe that we can derive sufficient nutrition elsewhere without the need to deprive them of living out their natural lives. Consequently, I have defended, and will continue to defend, clients charged with animal cruelty offenses.

Treat all animals with full care and respect to avoid animal cruelty prosecutions and convictions

Virginia’s animal cruelty law reads as if drafted by seasoned animal welfare advocates. Consider the following key misdemeanor sections of that statute: “Any person who (i) overrides, overdrives, overloads, ill-treats, or abandons any animal, whether belonging to himself or another; (ii) tortures any animal, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation on any animal, or cruelly or unnecessarily beats, maims, mutilates, or kills any animal, whether belonging to himself or another; (iii) deprives any animal of necessary food, drink, shelter, or emergency veterinary treatment; (iv) sores any equine for any purpose or administers drugs or medications to alter or mask such soring for the purpose of sale, show, or exhibition of any kind, unless such administration of drugs or medications is within the context of a veterinary client-patient relationship and solely for therapeutic purposes; (v) ropes, lassoes, or otherwise obstructs or interferes with one or more legs of an equine in order to intentionally cause it to trip or fall for the purpose of engagement in a rodeo, contest, exhibition, entertainment, or sport unless such actions are in the practice of accepted animal husbandry or for the purpose of allowing veterinary care; (vi) willfully sets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal; (vii) carries or causes to be carried by any vehicle, vessel or otherwise any animal in a cruel, brutal, or inhumane manner, so as to produce torture or unnecessary suffering; or (viii) causes any of the above things, or being the owner of such animal permits such acts to be done by another is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.” Virginia Code § 3.2-6570(A). In other words, when your companion animal / pet is in distress, err on the side of taking them to the veterinarian. Provide them sufficient food and water. Keep them away from humans and non-humans who will mistreat them. Give them full caring and your time. Give them plenty of recreation and outdoors time (if they are animals enjoying time outdoors.) If you are prosecuted for alleged animal cruelty, it is essential for your Virginia criminal lawyer to carefully scrutinize the statutes against you. 

Why is it not automatically a felony to shoot one’s dog dead? Scrutinize the statute.

Virginia and the rest of society is full of animal lovers who will wince at best to know that a person shot dead his dogs for no other reason than depression or not being in their right mind, which was a defense by Michel, who first reported that his two dogs had been stolen, but later admitted to investigators that he took them to the woods and shot them both dead. Michel won his appeal, because his actions qualified him for the above misdemeanor, but not for the added felony element of not merely killing one’s dog, but also to do the following: “(i) tortures, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation, or cruelly and unnecessarily beats, maims, or mutilates any dog or cat that is a companion animal whether belonging to him or another and (ii) as a direct result causes serious bodily injury to such dog or cat that is a companion animal, the death of such dog or cat that is a companion animal, or the euthanasia of such animal on the recommendation of a licensed veterinarian upon determination that such euthanasia was necessary due to the condition of the animal is guilty of a Class 6 felony.” Virginia Code § 3.2-6570(F). Here, the prosecution did not present evidence of any of the foregoing elements other than Michel’s killing of his dogs. Michel. It is essential to scrutinize this and all statutes. 

Hire a Virginia criminal lawyer who will leave no essential stone unturned in your defense

Michel won his appeal because his Virginia criminal lawyer went to the trouble to scrutinize the statute used in his prosecution and in challenging whether the presented evidence met all the elements of felony animal cruelty. You deserve no less in your Virginia criminal lawyer. Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense, which includes spending plenty of solitary time for his clients carefully finding and reviewing the applicable law, obtaining and fully combing through your case evidence, fully synthesizing and strategizing your best possible defense, and  finding the ah-hah’s and Eurekas along the say.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jon Katz will not rest until he has developed your best possible defense against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. Call 703-383-1100, Info@BeatTheProsecution.com or (text) 571-406-7268 to schedule your free in-person confidential consultation wtih Jon about your court-pending prosecution.