Of course they are not going to drop "this case".
Why? Because THEY are being sued.
They have an OPTION TO SETTLE the case but drop it?
Who is Attorney West trying to kid?

Attorney West is a pretty testy guy.
This is a letter he sent to me in response to a copy of a letter I sent to Roger Newton.

----- Original Message -----
From: "West, Robert"
To: "'Linda'" kat7@theworks.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 5:19 AM
Subject: RE: Letter to Newton

It is apparent that your only knowledge of this incident comes from the Ato websites. That information is intentionally inaccurate, placed there by people who want to manipulate public opinion for their own purposes. The real shame is that anyone reads those lies and distortions and accepts them as truth. People should be far more skeptical of what they read on the internet, lest they becomes the dupes and pawns of those who wish to control the gullible masses.

--------------------------------------

What Attorney West does not want to believe is the world is on to him.
Apparently it never occurred to him there would be so many people interested in this case.
It is clear he has no clue that anyone actually has done research on this matter and has copies of the original documents. Or maybe he expects us to believe that the attending physicians and hospital falsified their records.

The real shame is that the city of Ann Arbor has pandered to the whims of the wealthy and influential. And that the lies and distortions come from the city officials who are paid to protect the rights of all Ann Arbor citizens. Not bend the law to fit the situation of just one.

In reality those of us who are finally hearing the other side of the story are no longer dupes and pawns of the Robert West's of the world. Why? Because the internet allows us to uncover the corruption that was once so neatly swept under the carpet.

This page is set up with the facts.
Keep in mind that Robert West had all of this data also.
So did Judge Julie Ceal-Goodridge.
So the question is why did they ignore the facts?
Why did they continue to insist Ato be put down?

Lets take this step by step.

The Floor Plan:

According to the statement of Alex Newton (the paperboy):
"I am the child who was attacked by a guard dog last Sunday,"
"I went up to the screen door, I saw the dog about 10-15 feet away from the door, because the inside door was wide open. It was sleeping with its head facing in the opposite direction. I slipped the paper inside the screen door,"

This is a floor plan of the Ikuma's house looking thru the entry as Alex must have done.

From the statement of the boy it is hard to tell where Ato might have been sleeping.
We do have the measurements of the entry and we do know where the paper was found neatly stacked.
Since the Sunday papers does not have a rubber band and weighs around 3.5 lbs and was close to 5 feet inside the entry it is not likely it was just slipped inside the door as reported by the boy.

So how did the paper get neatly stacked in a pile close to 5 ft inside the house?

Trespass:

According to the American Heritage Dictionary this is the definition of trespass in the legal sense.

To commit an unlawful injury to the person, property, or rights of another, with actual or implied force or violence, especially to enter onto another's land wrongfully.

Under the circumstance why was the fact that Alex Newton clearly trespassed into the Ikuma household (he did not have permission to enter and was not invited) not taken into consideration by both Robert West and Julie Ceal-Goodridge?
Why was the boy not charged with trespass?
Does this mean that Attorney West and Judge Goodridge welcome trespassers into their own homes?
Or just yours?
Is this the standard that all citizens of Ann Arbor can now expect from its legal system?
This is now case law for Ann Arbor.
Should every citizen be worried?
Of course!
A trespass law that should protect property owners has just been weakened....but why?

What kind of precedent is being set here?
And again WHY?

The Actual Bite:

How did a superficial wound become life threatening in the courtroom?
Is $51,000 plus another $4,850 for whatever plus undisclosed attorney's fees "the going rate" for a dog bite these days?
Why did AAA pay off this sum without a squawk?
I know people who were seriously injured in car accidents that did not get near that amount.
Why?

Here is a report from James Holmes, MD:

History/Physical Exam: This is a pleasant 13?year?old male who was substituting on a paper route this morning. He was delivering a paper when, apparently, a dog busted through a door from the house he was delivering to, and bit him. The dog was a ______________. It is being quarantined appropriately. Dr. Mitchener's specific concern is a wound in the popliteal fossa of Alex' left leg. Alex is otherwise healthy. He soon will be in the eighth grade. Physical Examination: He was prone on the cart and accompanied by his father. He has multiple superficial bites that are suprafascial in his left buttock region as well as scrapes here. He has a volar forearm wound of approximately 1 cm that is suprafascial as well. His hand is completely neurovascularly intact. He has two wounds in left leg; one is a 15 mm transverse wound at the popliteal fossa and the other is anterolateral. Both of these are suprafascial. I did explore the popliteal wound, and again it was suprafascial. His left foot is completely neurovascularly intact. He has no numbness or tingling. He has full motor function and palpable dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulses. There is no pulsatile bleeding from any of the wounds. They were dressed appropriately with Betadine. Impression: Dog bites, as noted above. Recommendations: I agree with Dr. Mitchener' s plan for copious irrigation and very loose closure, as well as antibiotic therapy here and subsequent to that. No follow?up is required from an orthopedic standpoint, but certainly the wounds will need to be followed up, and Dr. Mitchener will arrange for this. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this patient's care. James Holmes, M. D. DD: 08/23/98 DT: 08/23/98 ksz

Temperament tests on Ato:

Report by:
Linker Learning Center for Dogs
Dexter Animal Clinic

Anti-Bite Strategy for Kids:
What every kid should be aware of.