A delinquent dog has been granted a stay of execution after the high court ruled it could reasonably be argued that one of the council staff who ordered her death was biased.
Izzy the staffordshire terrier was condemned in September 2013 by Melbourne’s Knox city council after “two vicious attacks on small dogs, in the course of which their owners were badly bitten and required hospitalisation”, a magistrates court heard.
It was the second time Izzy had attacked another dog after escaping her backyard. One of her canine accomplices in the June 2013 attack, described by one victim as a “total frenzy”, was put down the same day.
Lawyers for Izzy’s owner, Tania Isbester, argued the panel that ordered the dog’s execution was illegitimate because one of its member had worked on a separate criminal case against Isbester over the attack.
The appeal had been denied last year by the Victorian magistrate’s court, which ruled the council officer was no “zealous destroyer of dogs”.
On Wednesday the high court unanimously overturned that decision, finding that – while there was no evidence the council officer “acted otherwise than diligently” – a fair-minded observer could reasonably believe she “might not have brought an impartial mind to the decision” to execute Izzy.
“Natural justice required … that she not participate in the decision and because that occurred, the decision must be quashed,” the court said.
Council still has the option of convening a new panel to decide on Izzy’s fate, which a lawyer for Isbester, Daniel Beecher, said “put a cloud on the celebrations”.
He said Izzy’s involvement in the attack had been minor, causing “a tiny scratch on someone’s finger requiring nothing more than a Band-Aid”.
“Throughout this legal battle and to achieve this victory Tania Isbester has exhibited the attributes that we all hold dear as Australians, a willingness to fight against injustice, to stand up for a mate in trouble, and to not give up against exceptionally difficult odds,” he said. “It’s been a real David and Goliath battle.”
The mayor of Knox, Peter Lockwood, said the council was examining the judgment and would announce its plans for Izzy “at a later stage”.
“We defended this case purely on the grounds of public safety,” Lockwood said. “Council did not initiate this high court action, but chose to defend its actions in the interests of community safety,” he said.
