and 14CA1436. People v. Harris

Opinion by

JUDGE HARRIS

¶ 1 Valerie Christine Harris was convicted of twenty-two counts of cruelty to animals after dozens of malnourished animals were discovered on her property by employees of the Humane Society acting as state animal protection agents.

¶ 2 Her appeal raises two novel issues of statutory construction: first, we consider whether, under section 36-42-107(7), C.R.S. 2016, an animal protection agent who is an employee of the Humane Society is authorized to obtain a search warrant to investigate the suspected mistreatment of horses. We conclude that the agent exceeded her statutory…