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Ruling Expected Soon in Dog-Mauling Appeal
A dog-mauling case pending before the California Supreme Court is expected to determine when an unintended death can be a murder, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A ruling is expected soon, the newspaper says.
The state contends dog owner Marjorie Knoller was aware her vicious dogs were potential killers. As a result, state attorneys maintain, she was guilty of “implied malice” murder for her dogs’ fatal 2001 attack on Diane Whipple.
A judge overturned a jury verdict of second-degree murder but let stand a conviction for involuntary manslaughter. Knoller, a former lawyer, served 33 months in jail for that charge, but could be returned to prison if the high court reinstates the murder conviction.
