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15 TortSource 1 (2012-2013)

handle is hein.journals/tortso15 and id is 1 raw text is: Vol. 15, No. 1 0 cj- 0< D p o >_- IIa 0i ;-- Al Joan Schaffner The highest court in Maryland has held that all pit bull and cross-bred pit bull dogs are inherently dangerous as a matter of law and imposed strict liability on all per- sons who own, harbor, or control such dogs if they know or have reason to know that the dog is a pit bull mix. Tracey v. Solesky, 2012 WL 1432263 (Md. Ct. App. Apr. 26, 2012). This decision changed common law liability for dog-inflicted injury, which imposes liability on dog owners and certain others only if they knew or had reason to know that an individual dog had vicious propensities. The decision in Tracey sparked a firestorm of controversy and has had a devastating effect on all pit bull-type dogs, their owners, and others associated with them, including landlords, shelters, veteri- narians, and other animal service providers. This article discusses the decision, its continued on page 6 Fall 2012 Adam R Karp Those who defend dogs on death row consider themselves criminal defense attor- neys, even if the proceeding that resolves to sentence a canine to euthanasia takes place in a civil setting. From the pooch's perspective, someone has accused him of a capital crime-killing a cat off-property, biting a letter carrier in the calf, chasing and frightening neighborhood kids, or merely being born. If the state attempted to impose the same penalty on human beings, we would demand that the prosecutor meet the highest standard of proof available and offer every vestige of due process protection at our system's disposal. First, a retrospective. In medieval France, nonhuman animal defendants were dressed up in formal wear and tried for murder; notably, they were assigned counsel. 0 c- D o C)- (D< 0

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