There is a disturbing story out of Folcroft, Pennsylvania where Senior Magisterial District Judge Horace Z. Davis refused a prosecutor’s repeated request for a continuance in a drug case because of the death of “Umberto,” the K9 partner of Folcroft police Cpl. Christopher Eiserman. Eiserman was mourning the loss of his companion (who had hip dysplasia and arthritis) but Davis ruled that it was no basis for a continuance.
Davis threw out the case. Strangely, in a later call on a case, the issue was raised again but an officer reportedly objected to the court that this dog was Eiserman’s partner for 12 years. In that case, Davis granted a two-week continuance. That leaves me a tad confused.
Most judges (and most defense lawyers) would view the death of a family member to be a valid reason for a continuance. Not only are dogs like Umberto partners of officers, they are often kept in the homes of officers as part of their families. I fail to see what such a loss would not be a valid basis for a continuance. However, one officer said that when he later confronted Davis, the judge said that police could always “rearrest” the defendant.
Davis is retired and currently serving as a Senior Magisterial District Judge by special appointment. He has stated in interviews that “[w]hen I first started in the judicial system it was a time of turmoil, and the Chester courts were not operated the way that I thought that they should . . . A wrong decision can mess up a life. That’s what I attempted to do, to make things right, and to bring professionalism and dignity to the district court system.” While I understand the need to keep to a schedule (particularly when a criminal defendant is facing incarceration), I do not believe that such rulings bring “dignity” to the courts.
Source: Delco Times
Kudos: Michael Blott
To add to what Darren and Randy said. When a witness is called to testify, it is not a good thing if that witness is not on top of his or her game. Distractions, illness, emotional upset are all factors that impact memory, ability to express oneself accurately, and simple ability to listen to the questions and respond appropriately.
Okay, I see. Judges don’t understand how adored the male gender is, yet many laws are written to their detriment. Everybody’s a cop. I can bounty hunt or make an arrest at will. What is the entire record of this judge?
@Darren Smith “This judge does not understand how adored K-9s are in police culture.”
Didn’t anybody read the article? The judge didn’t know it was a dog, let alone a K-9.
This judge does not understand how adored K-9s are in police culture. They are considered officers/deputies by other officers. When one dies in the line of duty the K-9s are given the same honors as a human deputy would. It is more of a loss to the handler than the death of an ordinary pet would be. There is a sort of an extra “bond” for lack of a better word that officers have with each other based upon having to deal with all the events and hazards together that one experiences as being a cop. That same bond carries over to K9s as well. This is why the loss is worse than just a regular pet.
I know officers who have lost K-9s and the mourning is real and they are given time off if they request it without question. One officer, in all the years I have known her I’ve never seen her express anguish or sorrow until her K-9 died. She was very heartbroken afterward. She still keeps his picture on her desk and her computer to this day.
I think that wise people will defer to Darren since he is FAR better qualified in this area of expertise. That is what rational folks should do.
“Pain is weakness leaving your body.” – Marines
Sorry, but I’m not really feeling the outrage here. The dog was euthanized the night before the hearing, but the officer left the request for continuance the morning the hearing was scheduled. Generally, when a dog is euthanized for something like hip dysplasia and arthritis, it’s not an emergency. The family has a while to think about the right time to schedule it. So why did the officer wait until the last minute to request a continuance when he knew his dog was going to be put down?
@Michaelb “Also worth mentioning is the Defense had no objection to the continuance. This was all the judge’s power trip.”
It was the defense for the second case that was continued that had no objection. These cases were very different. The case dismissed was about five ounces of pot. The case continued was about felony firearms offenses.
From the article:
“”She was very professional,” Kesser said of the newly assigned prosecutor whose name escaped him. “She told the judge that the officer had a death in the family, which he did,” Kesser said.
Kesser doesn’t believe that Davis at that point knew that the prosecutor was referring to Eiserman’s K-9 partner as the family member.”
It strikes me that the prosecutor was being more than a little disingenuous with the judge. This also indicates that the judge wasn’t being dismissive of the importance of the dog if he didn’t even know the “family member” was a dog. I think he just didn’t want to clog up the process over a silly pot case.
Maybe you have ever had to euthanize a pet. Sometimes yes it can be done today or tomorrow but sometimes the pain becomes so bad for he animal that euthanasia needs to be done as soon as possible if you want to be humane.
(Both of my cats were euthanized when the vet told me the pain was very bad and the cats were suffering. It was not something that could wait.)
love dogs, but the death of one should not disrupt criminal proceedings. this was an old, sick dog, so the death should not have been a shock to the officer.
What is this about? Somebody killed his dog?
I would agree that absent any special circumstances, a loss of a family pet should not be a suitable reason for a continuance. I would hope that most judges might allow it, but I have had to work even after a loss of family dog.
it must be nice to have a job that you can not go to and probably get paid for when you lose a pet or a co-worker, we should all be that lucky.
yes, how about the person on trail – we have a justice system here and a speedy trial is one of our rights, the dog was put down maybe that wasnt a good day for the police to do that. I don’t have children but I have always had pets, and as much as I love them – THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. – IF i had a choice I would rather have kids them a pet.
Michaelb, Just because both attorneys agree, and the judge doesn’t grant a continuance, does not necessarily mean, “Power trip.” It could be, but judges are CONTINUALLY battling the wheels moving @ a snail’s pace. I respect judges who follow the “justice is swift” ideal.
Also worth mentioning is the Defense had no objection to the continuance. This was all the judge’s power trip.
My immediate response was to disagree with the majority here. While the loss is significant, there is a defendant with a trial hanging over his head–possibly in custody. There is also a paid defense attorney who has geared up for the trial and presumably arranged for witnesses to be available. Then I read the underlying story–it involved a preliminary hearing and the defense was not opposed to the continuance. That puts it in a significantly different light to me.
I love dogs. I cry like a baby when one of my dogs die. That said, I could never come close to equating my dog w/ my child. I’ve had people be mean to my dog and to my children. The anger in protecting my children is just more visceral. I had a shitbird call my daughter once and threaten to kill me. It was a guy I was investigating. I wanted to beat him to a pulp but the attorney who hired me did a good job calming me and handling it civilly. Right now, I have a deranged person posting comments on my wife’s Amazon books. My wife, Leslyn Amthor Spinelli, has written two books. The first is Taken For Granted, the second, Taken by Surprise. My daughter called me in tears after reading vile things said by a woman who is stalking me about me sexually abusing her and her being obese. I won’t repeat it, but all are free to go read the review by, “Mary.” I have prayed for calm. I explained to my daughter the background. I told her the best way to stop this deranged person is for everyone to see who she really is. She has posted other vile comments that Amazon has removed, but we have not reported this one as abuse. We want it to remain for all to see. Sorry for the tangent. When a delivery man kicked my Golden Retriever who was just running up to be petted w/ tail wagging I too wanted to lay the shitbird out. I walked purposefully toward him as he cowered and apologized profusely. I checked myself. But, when I analyze my anger, it’s not the same. This is just me, I don’t expect others to feel the same. Maybe I’m a speciesist!!!
Maybe he had had a change of heart…. But then again… Some officers can train dogs to perform false indications of the presence of “controlled substance”…..
Dogs are not just animals, rather they are doggy people. I am still recovering from the loss of my friend of 13.5 years Rexx. I first met Rexx in June 2000 when I heard the characteristic click click of puppy dog toe nails on a wooden floor. I was not at that time a dog person but within 2 weeks Rexx had converted me into a dog person who stops to pat dogs tied up in front of shopping centres.
I can sympathize completely with the policeman involved.
I think I would look at Judge Davis’ finances and watch his expenditures. THAT smells to high heaven, or he later realized his first mistake. K9s are the equivalent of ones children since they are raised with them from a young age and spend more time with those “dogs” than their own children. Plus they rely on them to save their lives and others. They are in every sense of the word their partner and rely on them just as much if not more so. My sympathy goes out to the officer for his great loss.
Think it was nasty but if that Magistrate has never had a pet he might not understand the relationship one develops, and especially with an animal trained to potentially save his person’s life in certain situations. Odd different case gave 2 weeks continuance, was there another reason at play that the first case was dismissed?
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