People v. Thomason
California Court of Appeal, Second District
84 Cal. App. 4th 1064, 101 Cal. Rptr. 2d 247 (2000)
- Written by Haley Gintis, JD
Facts
The State of California (plaintiff) charged Gary L. Thomason (defendant) with animal cruelty in violation of Penal Code § 597a. Thomason had bought mice and rats from a store that sold rodents to be used as food for other animals. However, Thomason had used the mice and rats to produce multiple sexual-fetish videos called crush videos. Crush videos involved women in high heels stomping on rodents until they died. Thomason was convicted of the charge and appealed. On appeal, Thomason argued that he could not be convicted of animal cruelty because rodents were dangerous to property because they caused infestations and were dangerous to health because they spread diseases. Therefore, Thomason argued that the use of the term animal in Section 597a was not intended to apply to mice and rats. Additionally, Thomason argued that Health and Safety Code § 116125 allowed him to destroy the rodents. Finally, Thomason argued that Section 597a was unconstitutionally vague because it was unclear whether an individual could be convicted of animal cruelty for killing a rodent.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lillie, J.)
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