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Too many dogs, over dogged...


kelpiegirl
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I've been wondering the same thing. Has anyone heard of a hoarding ordinance actually being sucessfully enforced against someone who was represented by counsel?

 

I can't speak to any specific cases, but there's a difference between an ordinance violation and a crime. It's hard to imagine that criminal charges would ever be brought against a hoarder, unless the behavior reached the standard of criminal neglect. More likely it's simply an adminstrative matter which would be dealt with by confiscation of the animals and probably a visit from social services. So it's not a case where someone would or could plead mental incompetence or impairment because they are not being tried in a criminal court. There may be some kind of adminstrative hearing if a person wishes to challenge the designation, but that will vary by jurisdiction.

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I can't speak to any specific cases, but there's a difference between an ordinance violation and a crime. It's hard to imagine that criminal charges would ever be brought against a hoarder, unless the behavior reached the standard of criminal neglect. More likely it's simply an adminstrative matter which would be dealt with by confiscation of the animals and probably a visit from social services. So it's not a case where someone would or could plead mental incompetence or impairment because they are not being tried in a criminal court. There may be some kind of adminstrative hearing if a person wishes to challenge the designation, but that will vary by jurisdiction.

 

Ordinances are simply laws enacted by municipal governments, as opposed to statutes, which are laws enacted by legislative bodies.

 

Crimes are "social harms that the law makes punishable" [black's Law Dictionary, 7th ed.]

 

In my county, violators of the proposed ordinance will be tried in magistrate's court, which is a court with jurisdiction over minor criminal offenses.

 

I'm not aware of any social service agency that deals with animals. Although my state's Dept. of Social Services often (inexplicably) will include in their Complaint that the children were removed, in part, because there were "pets residing in the home." Which always makes me go :rolleyes:

 

Administrative courts deal with the violation of regulations - which are rules promulgated by government agencies.

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I'm not aware of any social service agency that deals with animals.

 

It's less a case of an agency dealing with animals than it is recognizing that the hoarding behavior can be a sympton of a person's inability to care for themselves. Obviously it will vary by jurisdiction, and again there's a huge difference between a compulsive hoarder and a person with just a bunch of pets.

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It's less a case of an agency dealing with animals than it is recognizing that the hoarding behavior can be a sympton of a person's inability to care for themselves. Obviously it will vary by jurisdiction, and again there's a huge difference between a compulsive hoarder and a person with just a bunch of pets.

 

Yikes, I suppose you're right. Well, being institutionalized for being a hoarder would definitely be worse than being fined for it. :rolleyes:

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Yikes, I suppose you're right. Well, being institutionalized for being a hoarder would definitely be worse than being fined for it. :rolleyes:

 

I doubt it would ever go quite that far. The legal standard for being institutionalized is generally something to the effect of imminent danger to themselves or others, and it requires an actual hearing. (Sorry - mental health law was one of my areas of study). If social services were to get involved in would probably be more like a social worker checking in once in awhile.

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Tea,

If your Brother in law passes and has debt still outstanding... you certainly should look into his toy tractor collection for ones which might be collectors items and sell them to help cover his expenses. Nothing wrong with that... but giving them to children is a very nice idea that would honor him also.

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