He’s spent almost three years fighting the fine all the way to the Commonwealth Court, which ruled on the case this week.
A York County man who has spent the past three years fighting a nuisance citation over his dog barking has lost his most recent bid for a review. Andrew McCormack, of Conewago Township, has appealed the citation and the $25 fine that came with it three times, and has lost each time.
He’s accrued hundreds more dollars in costs and fees having lost his cases. The Commonwealth Court ruled on Tuesday the nuisance ordinance was constitutional, McCormack had a fair county hearing and there was enough evidence to find him guilty of violating the ordinance.March 7, 2023 after it received a complaint his dog, Max, had been barking, according to the court’s opinion. The department received three complaints about the dog, and on the fourth, officers cited him, the opinion said. At a hearing in front of York County Judge Kathleen Prendergast, McCormack’s neighbor presented three audio recordings of the barking dog and testified that McCormack’s dog frequently would run out of McCormack’s house, bark for five to 10 minutes, and run back inside. This would repeat for around an hour to two hours, the neighbor said. McCormack said the township ordinance doesn’t specify how long a dog must be barking for it to be considered a nuisance. McCormack argued his dog was merely barking alongside other dogs in what he described as “socially fascinated barking,” the opinion said — or playing. “It’s what dogs are supposed to do. Have fun!” McCormack told PennLive on Tuesday, indicating he had no legal background and is a software programmer. Prendergast repeatedly corrected McCormack to keep his cross-examination during testimony and statements about his legal case, separate, indicating she would not dedicate her entire day to hearing the case, the opinion said. McCormack still made legal arguments when he was supposed to be cross-examining the witness, so Prendergast gave him only five minutes to testify himself and make any further arguments in a legal memorandum to be filed within 30 days of the hearing, the opinion said. McCormack argued in his appeal to the Commonwealth Court that those time limits violated his constitutional rights to due process, but the court shot that argument down, ruling Prendergast was just trying to keep the case orderly and time-efficient and had given him 30 days to file a legal brief addressing any testimony he didn’t get a chance to include in arguments. McCormack also argued the ordinance was unconstitutional, but the Commonwealth Court upheld the ordinance. Finally, McCormack argued his neighbor’s testimony wasn’t enough to convict him, but the Commonwealth Court overturned it. The costs associated with the case inflated to around $626.98 at the county level, and there will likely be costs involved with the Commonwealth Court appeal, too. “I’m probably gonna have to drop it at this point. I don’t think I have great odds with the Supreme Court,” McCormack said. “The courts don’t see it my way, so… Whatever!”Part of the suit over Geisinger’s ex-COVID-19 vaccination policy is revivedJon writes about high-profile court cases in central Pennsylvania prioritizing high-impact crimes such as homicides, abuse and crimes committed by public servants. He also focuses on civil proceedings involving...
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