Jack vs. ego of James Van Slyke
To understand the dynamics of the drama that is playing out in the suburb of Utica, NY, appreciate that "town judges" or magistrates are elected from the general population in the village, so anybody can run for office, no legal training required. The "Village of New Hartford" is effectively a one-party town, and the "Republican" party controls the outcome, as they have an overwhelming voter registration. James Van Slyke was the former, retired, Principal of the village Middle School, and first ran for "judge" some twenty years ago on the Republican ticket. He has been effectively unopposed until the 2010 election and still handily defeated his opponent, a function of "straight ticket" voting in upstate NY. I am not going to go into an introspection of his personality, although in general I observe that age 84-plus is where people lose objectivity and emotional flexibility, characteristics that are in my view a requirement for being a Judge.
The Judge is thus effectively being challenged as to his Order (the kill order). Keep in mind that Van Slyke never met Jack the Sheltie; it was a Ruling in the first hearing from the bench. Van Slyke is not going to back down, so appealing to his conscience or morals is going nowhere.
The pressure points in that town lie elsewhere. Members here are urged to write and call to the Town Supervisor, and to the Chamber of Commerce, the Visitors Bureau, the Stevens-Swan Humane society (under contract to New Hartford and where Jack is caged), and the Economic Development Commission, if you, like me, have a factory that needs siting. You could also write a letter to Judge Dwyer over in the Oneida County Court in Utica who will be hearing the matter in about two weeks. And if you live nearby, go paint up a picket sign and go picket outside city hall if that suits you.
Remember: the Village of New Hartford has formally declared Jack to be valueless: a "dead dog" has no money value. Thus, in terms of Standing, they have no money claim. Also, both the dog and the owner are outside the Village: the Stevens-Swan facility is inside the City of Utica, and the owners live in another suburb, Ilion. There is thus some question as to "Standing" of New Hartford to continue its abuse of Jack, as everybody is outside their jurisdiction.
At this point, the Directors of the Stevens-Swan facility are under considerable pressure, and feeling the public's wrath, would dearly like to have Jack leave. As the Shelter is contribution-sensitive, I say with some confidence (not total, but some) that the Directors are not going to carry out any Kill Order on their premises; that much has been accomplished. So that leaves the local New Hartford Chief of Police and his pistol, assuming he is prepared to be so crass.
What you collectively need to do is make Jack the Sheltie politically radioactive, so that no matter what the outcome in Court, nobody is going to carry out that Kill Order. You do that by writing angry letters and making phone calls. Think about it.
After his Ruling, the family said they would go to the Court of Appeals, in this case the County Court that sits as an appellate venue to the village magistrate court. I think it sits de novo on the case, although I am not sure of that. It was in that context that Van Slyke made that "the money clock it ticking" remark, in that the board would be $40 a day and since months would go by for the judicial machinery to grind onward, it would bankrupt the family. He knows that, and thus is using (or abusing, depending on your point of view) the delays in the court system to punish jack's family. The Board money does not go to the town; it goes to the Stevens-Swan facility. However, the costs of the legal appeal fall on the shoulders of the family (fortunately, an attorney is working pro-bono on this).
You all have a collective interest in changing the attitude of mendacious government officials away from killing our pets to placement as the solution. This does not happen in a vacuum; it happens when you turn up the heat. Si start writing those letters (by email is easy enough) and work the phones. Don't forget to call the directors of the Stevens-Swan Humane Society; they need to know their contributions will be choked off if they do not turn Jack over to his family (and they can do that tomorrow, as the Order does not flow to the shelter, it is only on the Town Officials. the Shelter is not a Party before the Court and nothing Van Slyke says or orders is binding on the Shelter, which is outside the Village). GTurn up the heat!
