STATE OF WASHINGTON v. CHARMARKE ABDI-ISSA

The Supreme Court of the State of Washington affirmed a trial court ruling that animal cruelty may be designated as a crime of domestic violence, even in the absence of specific statutory language. Indeed, the court ruled that “the domestic violence act does not create new crimes, it simply emphasizes the need to enforce existing criminal statutes in such a way that victims of domestic violence are protected.”

[To accompany State Case Law Update "Washington State Supreme Court Declares Animal Cruelty to be a Crime of Domestic Violence" from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 125.]