Following the Michael Vick dogfighting case, laws in Virginia and across the country were strengthened to aid state-level animal cruelty prosecutions. But it's still hard to get substantive jail time for most intentional animal cruelty cases, said Virginia Assistant Attorney General Michelle Welch during a forum Oct. 19 at the University of Virginia School of Law. The event was sponsored by the UVA Animal Law Program and the Virginia Animal Law Society.