Theoret v. State

Appellant, defendant below, appeals from a judgment and sentence for the crime of cruelty to animals following a non-jury trial. Without belaboring the point, we find that the lower court committed egregious error when it excluded from testimony evidence offered by the defendant relating to his state of mind, his intent and motive, his past relationship with animals and the customs and practice in his native country concerning treatment to animals in similiar situations. Although our research reveals no Florida case which directly involved this issue, we nevertheless believe that, in light of…