Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Nuisance Animals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Magistrate dismisses citation against dentist Judy Chin in duck-feeding complaint
Summary
Magistrate Scott Kleinman found insufficient evidence linking Judy Chin to bread left on her property and granted her appeal; no further prosecution will occur.
Special Magistrate Scott Kleinman found in favor of Judy (Judy) Chin on May 7 after hearing testimony led by Deputy Matthew Parish and evidence provided by the complainant and Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) photographs.
Deputy Parish testified he had been dispatched March 13 to a complaint about muscovy ducks eating bread on property at 8341 Northwest 30 Ninth Court and that he had observed bread and photographed the scene; he did not personally see anyone feed the ducks. Attorney Justin Gendler represented the property owner’s side and presented the owner, Dr. Judy Chin, who testified she and her family had not fed the ducks that morning and that they had left before the officer’s arrival.
Kleinman said he found both witnesses credible but concluded there was no evidence showing Ms. Chin had put the bread on her property or otherwise caused the birds to be there. “There’s no evidence as to how that got there,” he said, and granted the appeal. The magistrate dismissed the citation and directed that no further fines or prosecution would be pursued in the case.
The dismissal ends the city’s enforcement action in this matter; the magistrate noted photographs and video footage had been reviewed but that no witness linked the bread to Chin specifically.
