Prosecutor urges Corinne officials to step up citations for dangerous dogs, persistent nuisances

Blair, the prosecuting attorney, told Corinne town officials at a work session that the town has clear legal tools to address dangerous dogs, chronic barking, property nuisances and parking problems, and advised using citations and court filings more aggressively to compel compliance.

The advice came during a question-and-answer session prompted by Council member Greg Harris, who opened the discussion by saying, “We've had multiple problems with dogs in this town.” Harris described animals running at large and biting people and asked what the town could do beyond informal warnings.

Blair outlined the town’s enforcement options and practical limits. He said the municipal code allows the town to designate an animal-control officer who may issue citations — one of the few non-officer exceptions in the code — and that the town may impound or quarantine animals if they can be captured. “The code does allow for the city to designate an animal control officer,” Blair said. He cautioned, however, that impounding and quarantining animals creates costs and logistical burdens because the animal must be housed while court processing proceeds.

On the use of force against animals, Blair said a person may use force in the moment to defend themselves, their property or other people, but cannot lawfully shoot an animal after the fact: “It has to be during the process. You can't go an hour later and shoot it.” He added that even where an animal is attacking, civil liability and local restrictions (for example, discharging a firearm in a neighborhood) can complicate such actions.

Blair described two prosecutorial paths: filing an information and summons (which he said can take weeks because the court review and service process involves multiple offices) or issuing a citation, which bundles notice and charge into a single document that can be handed to the alleged violator and starts the court clock immediately. “The second option is to just do a citation. And a citation is essentially that information and summons all in one,” he said, noting the quicker path to court afforded by citations. He also said that in Utah a recipient’s signature is not required for a citation to be valid and that failure to appear can result in a warrant.

Blair urged the town to “start citing the crap out of people” for repeated or dangerous violations, saying repeated filings will get the court’s attention. He told officials that judges can remove dogs and impose fines, and that in other jurisdictions judges have required dogs to be euthanized in severe cases. He also urged keeping careful documentation and witness statements so prosecutions will succeed in court.

Officials raised several related enforcement topics. Blair said barking complaints generally are charged under the town’s nuisance ordinance rather than a separate noise statute, and the town’s rule requires multiple complainants (he and officials discussed a two- or three-person threshold) and written witness statements to support court cases. Blair warned against automatically issuing licensing violations from outdated registration lists and recommended on-site confirmation before charging.

On parking and trailers, Blair explained the evidentiary challenges of issuing parking citations when the person who parked a vehicle cannot be identified. He said a practical approach is to notify the occupant, give short time to move the vehicle, and then cite if it remains — because that shows the person knew the vehicle was parked improperly. He also discussed RVs and trailers used as living quarters: successful prosecutions require witnesses willing to testify or photographic evidence.

For long-running property nuisance cases, Blair said the town can charge every 14 days (or under the town code’s applicable cadence) and that persistent noncompliance can lead to escalating fines; the town may also pursue civil remedies to abate hazards, but that path is a civil process handled separately. He advised charging both property owners and tenants in many exterior-nuisance cases; “If it's for garbage, debris, cleanup, I think you charge both,” he said.

Town staff asked several practical questions that Blair committed to follow up on. He agreed to check with the court clerk about whether the town can file paper citations into the court’s digital system so the animal-control officer’s citations would be entered efficiently, and he asked staff to forward photographs and updated documentation on specific nuisance properties so he could file criminal charges where warranted.

No formal policy changes were adopted during the work session; Blair opened the meeting by reminding officials that the session was for discussion only and that no decisions would be made that night. The session closed after a motion to adjourn was made by Tom Little and seconded by Ed Whitaker, which the body approved.