1/26/07 - Trueblood Law Group Wins Acquital For Men Accused of Animal Fighting On Florida Indian Reservation

After nearly an hour of deliberation, a Glades County, Florida jury acquitted Arthur Parker of Fort Lawn and Don Matthews of Hartwell, Ga. Wednesday for baiting and fighting animals in connection with a catch dog field trial held on the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, the men's lawyers said.

Both Parker and Matthews were charged last year for baiting and fighting animals after an investigation by the Seminole Tribe of Florida's Police Department, the United States Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General and the Office of the State Attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit for the State of Florida. In Florida, the baiting and fighting of animals is a third degree felony.
The charges stemmed from an Oct. 9, 2004 catch dog field trial held on the reservation. Catch dog field trials are a valuable training tool for training dogs to catch feral hogs hunted in the wild.

That event was held about two weeks before a similar event in Richburg, for which Parker and four others were charged in December 2004. Parker and his companion Mary Luther were acquitted in late 2005. Parker's son and two others are still charged in the case.

Catch dog field trials have been billed by animal rights activists and anti-hunting groups as animal fighting and cruel to the animals involved. Catch dog field trials are not per se illegal under Florida law.

The Humane Society of the United States, an anti-hunting group not to be confused with the Humane Society of America, sent an undercover private investigator onto the reservation to secretly tape these events for authorities. After procuring the tape, the investigator approached tribal authorities with the matter.

Both Parker and Matthews were represented by Attorney Travis Trueblood of Lakeland, Florida. Trueblood is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and founding member of the Trueblood Law Group, P.A., a law firm dedicated to the preservation of tribal sovereignty at all costs.
For more information, please contact the Trueblood Law Group, P.A. at (863) 946-9160 or online at www.truebloodlawgroup.com.

1/1/07 -- Trueblood Law Group announces the opening of a new home office in Davie, Florida. The Davie Office will house all Trueblood Law Group administrative functions and will serve as the Firm’s Main Office.

11/1/06 -- Trueblood Law Group opens new office in Moore Haven, Florida. The Trueblood Law Group is looking forward to being a part of the growing economic development taking place in Moore Haven and surrounding Glades County.  Trueblood Law Group is proud to be the only full-time law firm serving Glades County and the surrounding rural Lake Okeechobee communities.