In the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and in regard to the United States vs. Ashley Nicole Richards & Brent Justice animal crush video case, judges from the court of appeals for the fifth circuit have offered their ruling in that the charges under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 be hereby reinstated against the defendants.
The opinion of the Fifth Circuit can be read HERE.
In September of 2013, Stopcrush.org, the ALDF and the HSUS each filed Amicus curiae, supplying the federal court with information based on overturning Texas Judge Sim Lake’s poorly thought-out ruling last year, a ruling which threw out the federal animal crush video charges against Richards & Justice. Federal prosecutors utilized this information to effectively nullify the defense’s position at the appeals hearing, which can be heard HERE.
This is a great win for animals and proponents of stronger penalties levied against animal cruelty in the United States. The members of Stopcrush.org would like to thank each of you for making our participation in the appeals process possible. On behalf of those who have supported us, we would also like to thank former Congressperson, Elton Gallegly and the brilliant attorney representing the Stopcrush.org initiative, Daphne Silverman of the Silverman Law Group in Austin Texas.
It is likely that the defense will file an appeal with the Supreme Court. In the event that the defense is granted an opportunity to bring this case before the Supreme Court, Stopcrush.org will call on you once again for assistance. Our hope is that the Supreme Court will never grant that appeal but if it is granted, we will be there representing your stance and the interest of the animals.
We owe you our gratitude,
the team at Stopcrush.org
