nder a new state law, anyone who knowingly cares for a vicious dog can be criminally prosecuted if that dog kills or injures someone regardless of whether they own the animal.
The law, which was signed by Gov. Gray Davis Thursday and takes effect immediately, was written in response to the January mauling death of Pacific Heights resident Diane Whipple.
Still, the new law won't affect the criminal case against lawyers Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller, the couple in charge of the dogs that killed the 33-year-old Lacrosse coach.
Under the old law, which dates back to 1872, only a dog's owner can be held criminally responsible when a dog kills someone.
AB 1709 by Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, was written after it became clear that the San Francisco district attorney's office would have a tough time holding Noel and Knoller responsible for Whipple's death since they were not the legal owners of the two Presa Canario dogs.
Ex post facto laws also prohibit the couple from being prosecuted under the new law.
"Diane Whipple's death was a tragedy," Migden said in a prepared statement following the signing of her bill. "We must do all that we can to close legal loopholes that might prevent responsible individuals from being held accountable."
Migden added that the absence of such a law has hampered the ability of the San Francisco district attorney's office to make a clear murder case against the two.
Noel and Knoller both remain in jail with bail set at $1 million. Noel is charged with manslaughter and failure to control a vicious dog while Knoller, who was present during the attack on Whipple, faces the same charges with an added charge of second-degree murder. Their trial is set for Oct. 22 although a change of venue motion scheduled for next week could push back the trial date to as late as January, said Deputy District Attorney James Hammer.
As the lead prosecutor in the case, Hammer refused to discuss the Whipple matter, but said Friday that under the old law all one had to prove in a death case was that he didn't own the dog. "[If someone] wasn't technically the owner there was no liability," he said.
Hammer, who testified earlier this year on behalf of the legislation, said the only way to get around ownership was to prove that a dog was trained to attack or kill.
The dogs that killed Whipple were owned by two inmates serving life terms at Pelican Bay State Prison.
The men -- both members of the Aryan Brotherhood -- are suspected of running a fighting dog breeding operation from their cell. One of the men, Paul Schneider, is also the adopted son of Noel and Knoller.
AB 1709 is one of two Migden bills this session shining the spotlight on Whipple's death. Another piece of legislation -- AB 25 -- would broaden the rights of same-sex couples and allow, among other things, the right of a same-sex partner to sue for wrongful death.
Under current California law, Sharon Smith, Whipple's partner of seven years, cannot sue Noel and Knoller in civil court although she filed suit in March anyway.
AB 25, which has the backing of Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in July and now awaits action by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
