Why a Boalsburg woman convicted of animal neglect could be getting a new trial
A statewide appeals court vacated Tuesday a Boalsburg woman’s animal neglect conviction and sentence after finding a Centre County judge improperly denied her request to be represented at trial by a public defender.
The 12-page ruling from a three-judge panel of the state Superior Court ordered a new trial for Donna H. Arthur, the latest ruling in a prosecution that began in 2021.
Centre County Chief Public Defender David Crowley, who was appointed to represent Arthur during the appeal process, said she was “behind the eight ball pretty badly going to trial on the matter.”
Arthur, 78, was found to have kept several newborn kittens locked in a filthy vehicle with the windows rolled up on an unseasonably warm spring day.
Hope’s Dream Rescue and Sanctuary founder and President Lisa King testified during trial the nonprofit received a report that the internal temperature of the vehicle was 120 degrees. Humane society police officer Harold Walstrom testified he felt “a wave of heat release” after opening one of the vehicle’s doors.
Arthur testified on her behalf, but Centre County Judge Brian Marshall found her not credible.
Arthur, Marshall wrote in an opinion, was given six additional months from the original date of her summary appeal to find a private lawyer or request a public defender. The first time she made an oral request to be represented by a public defender was the first day of the trial.
The Superior Court’s ruling found Marshall erred in assessing her right to appointed counsel because she earned a living wage. While consideration of a person’s income is a “weighty factor,” Bowes wrote, the assessment must also factor whether the person is without financial resources or is otherwise unable to employ counsel.
Marshall convicted her after a two-day trial of one summary count of animal neglect and sentenced her to pay a $100 fine. He also placed her on non-reporting probation for 90 days. She was prohibited from possessing animals any time she was forced to live in her vehicle.
But state law does not allow for people to be sentenced to imprisonment or probation if they were not afforded the right to an attorney at trial, state Superior Court Judge Mary Jane Bowes wrote.
Arthur also launched a two-fold challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence that led to her conviction, but each were rejected by the Superior Court.
Crowley said Arthur may choose to appeal to the state Supreme Court or continue toward a new trial. A message left with Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna was not immediately returned.
Public records show Arthur was charged with animal neglect at least two other times. After appeal, she was found not guilty earlier this month by Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine.