Doggie Due Process
The Saga of "Tut-Tut," "Bandit," "Boo
Boo," and "Sadie"
Altman v. City of High Point, N.C., 330 F.3d
194 (4th Cir.(N.C.) 2003)
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What is a dog "at large"
What happened to plaintiff's dog?
Where was this done?
Why was this done?
What due process was provided?
How did plaintiff characterize the act in legal
terms?
Plaintiff's Legal Claims
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Plaintiff claims under 42 USC 1983
 Violation of a person's civil rights under the
color of law
Whose rights are violated?
What is the constitutional claim, i.e., what part of
the constitution has been violated?
What is a state actor, i.e., someone who acts
under color of state law?
The Characterization of a Dog
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What is the legal classification issue that plaintiff must
address to state a 42 USC 1983 claim?
Does the Constitution mention dogs?
What class of animal does a dog fall into?
 Is it an animal ferae naturae?
 Is it the same as a cow?
 Why?
What type of property does the court hold the dog to be?
Deprivation of Property
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Must the government pay compensation if it takes
this sort of property?
Is this a taking?
How does the government characterize killing the
dogs?
Is this a 4th Amendment Seizure?
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"A Fourth Amendment" seizure" of personal
property occurs when" there is some meaningful
interference with an individual's possessory
interests in that property.""
Were these dogs seized?
Is a seizure the same as a taking?
Is this a Reasonable Seizure?
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What searches does the 4th amendment bar?
What do you have to do to make a criminal search
proper under the 4th amendment?
 An administrative search?
 Are exceptions for exigent circumstances?
What facts support the officer's claim that this is a
reasonable search?
Qualified Immunity
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Since the majority found that this was a reasonable
search, it did not need to reach qualified immunity.
 What is qualified immunity?
 What is the standard for qualified immunity?
What does Robles v. Prince George's County, Maryland,
302 F.3d 262 (4th Cir. 2002) tell us?
 Where did the court in Robles say to look for the
remedy?
 Why might this case had a different result 50 years
ago?
Add the Adlaw Context
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What is the Mathews analysis for this case?
What is justification for the summary action?
How is the dog like the bad chicken in North
American?