I may have an animal cruelty case in the next few weeks. I'd appreciate any themes and opening/closing argument talking point ideas that I could expound on. One I like is the idea that how we treat animals is a reflection of our humanity. Thanks

Don't call him a cowardly cur. Or can you...? Hmmmm.

This might be similar to your humanity theme, but I love that Ghandi quote: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." How great are we if we don't hold those accountable who mistreat our animals?

I think the most important thing to be talking about is the strong correlation between violence to animals and violence to humans. I have a terrible animal cruelty case coming up and I plan on designating an expert to talk about the connection between animal cruelty and violent behavior toward humans in punishment. I am an animal lover and I think almost any jury will appreciate the importance of holding someone accountable who has been cruel to animals, but it never hurts to take it one step further and talk about what animal cruelty says about the defendant and his propensity for violence toward humans.

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Originally posted by JMH:
Don't call him a cowardly cur. Or can you...? Hmmmm.

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H-man, that brings to mind another quote from a long ago Harris County trial, a statement attributed to Sam Houston:

"He has all the attributes of a dog except for loyalty".

By the way, that comment is not a slam on dogs.

[This message was edited by GG on 03-07-07 at .]