BESS B. BRACKEN COUNTY FISCAL COURT
Government: Regulatory Law (ordinance regulating pit bulls)
2005-CA-000541
PUBLISHED: AFFIRMING (VANMETER)
DATE RENDERED: 12/01/2006
COA upheld county ordinance banning the possession of pit bull terriers.
With respect to the constitutionality of measures related to dogs, courts have universally recognized the right of state legislatures to exercise their police power to regulate dog ownership. See, e.g., Nicchia v. New York, 254 U.S. 228, 230, 41 S.Ct. 103, 104, 65 L.Ed. 235 (1920) (dogs “may be subjected to peculiar and drastic police regulations by the state without depriving their owners of any federal right”).
