CARROLLTON — A Carroll County journalist is suing an animal rights organization and law enforcement officials for allegedly wrongfully taking dogs and cats from her home.
Susie James filed a complaint Thursday in Carroll County chancery court against In Defense of Animals and its leader, Doll Stanley, as well the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department.
James alleges that her due process rights were violated because they didn’t establish probable cause before seizing animals on May 16 and May 22.
She’s seeking punitive damages “sufficient to punish and set an example” as well as other relief and attorney’s fees. She’s requesting access to documents related to the case, too.
Neither James nor her attorney, Tom Calhoun of Greenwood, could be reached for comment. A former Commonwealth freelancer, James currently writes for the Carrollton Conservative.
On May 16, animals were seized from her home at 790 County Road 121 in Carrollton.
The lawsuit states James wasn’t served notice of the seizure until the next day by Deputy Brad Carver.
More animals were taken on May 22.
During the second seizure, the lawsuit said, Stanley and others from In Defense of Animals accompanied by Carver forced their way into James’ home. It said Carver caused James “to physically be pulled, or in other ways caused Plaintiff James to lose her balance from the front porch or steps of her own property and ultimately fall to the ground.”
The lawsuit also alleges a pet carrier was taken from James’ home without any legal authority.
At the heart of James’ legal argument is that Stanley and the Sheriff’s Department didn’t have probable cause to believe animals were being neglected or cruelly treated.
State law governing seizure of neglected animals requires sworn testimony from someone who has witnessed the animals’ condition.
The lawsuit said no such testimony was obtained before the order was issued as far as James knows. It also said no animals were specified.
The lawsuit takes issue with the wording of the order, which Justice Court Judge Jimmy Avant issued. It calls for the “surrender” of the animals rather than “seizure,” which is the word used in the law.
Stanley said this morning that 10 of the 13 dogs and three of the four cats seized have died despite dedicated efforts to save them. She said James has never responded to offers to come forward and keep the remaining animals if they are spayed and neutered.
Stanley said that when first receiving a report of abuse, she has law enforcement investigate because that’s who applies for the seizure order. She said she and deputies saw the dogs’ conditions before going to court.
But she said in potential hoarding cases you can’t give advance notice because the animals will possibly be moved.
“We’re in the right. We’re not here to harm people or animals. I think it’s sad that anybody’s putting their efforts into going after us for doing something that is just,” Stanley said.
Stanley as well as Shirley Gray, an In Defense of Animals volunteer from Jackson, both strongly deny Carver caused James to fall.
Gray said that James “yelled and raved” almost the entire time they were on the scene on May 22 but that everyone did their best to keep from upsetting James further. She said James plopped down on her own and refused offers of help getting back up before eventually standing on her own.
Gray said the home was “beyond filthy.”
“It was the worst I’ve ever seen. You were literally walking on solid feces. You couldn’t see the floor,” Gray said.
Sheriff Jerry Carver, a cousin of Deputy Brad Carver, declined to discuss the case.
“I’d rather it not be tried in the newspaper. Allegations are something anybody can make,” he said.
Harmon Stanford, owner of Stanford’s Farm and Feed in Carroll County, raised money for James’ legal representation after vouching for her that he sold her food to keep up her animals.
He said that James is a very productive person for Carroll County due to her coverage of public meetings but that neither the judge nor sheriff nor Stanley followed the law in the seizure.
“What was done to her was pretty outrageous in my opinion,” Stanford said.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
Susie James' complaint
