BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The lawyer for a former teacher accused of starving her cats says the search of her Boca Raton, Fla., apartment was conducted illegally.
Allison Dinsmore, 27, was charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty last February after her apartment manager and police found two dead cats.
A veterinarian determined the cats died of dehydration and starvation at least a month before being discovered, though Dinsmore said she had seen the cats alive and well just a week before their bodies were found.
Dinsmore's Circuit Court trial was scheduled to begin Monday. A motion pending before the court asked Judge Stephen Rapp to declare the search of Dinsmore's apartment illegal, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday.
Dinsmore's lawyer Jordan Lewin, said the police, who were contacted by the apartment manager, did not have a search warrant or Dinsmore's consent to search the premises.
Dinsmore's contract with the Congress Middle School was not renewed for the 2009-2010 school year, the Sun Sentinel reported.
