Critics barking about comfort dogs in court

US judges, defence lawyers say animals potentially bias juries

AS DOGS and other animals are increasingly used in courts to comfort and calm prosecution witnesses, a few voices are calling for keeping the practice on a short leash, saying they could bias juries.

The use of dogs in courts has spread quickly across the US amid a growing number of laws and rulings in its favour – and, outside of the legal world, a significant increase in the use of emotional support animals by the public.

There are now more than 155 “courthouse facility dogs” working in 35 states, according to the Courthouse Dogs Foundation in Bellevue, Washington.

This has caused division among judges, however, with some not allowing dogs because of potential bias against defendants, and many defence lawyers don’t like the practice.

Having dogs and other emotional support animals in the witness box can illegitimately boost witness credibility and prejudice juries against defendants, Denver defence lawyer Christopher Decker said.

“I think it distracts the jurors from what their job is, which is to determine the truthfulness of the testimony,” Decker said. “It tends to imply or infer that there has been some victimisation. It tends to engender sympathy. It’s highly prejudicial.”

Facility dogs are trained to provide companionship without disruption in courthouses. They work at courthouses all day, then go home with their handlers. Emotional support and “therapy” dogs are pets that can be registered with organisations and may or may not have been specially trained.

Proponents say dogs help reduce the anxiety of traumatised victims, especially children, so they can overcome the stress of telling their stories in a deposition room or courtroom.

Ivy Jacobsen, of Lake Stevens, Washington, said three facility dogs helped her get through the three trials it took before her father was convicted of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.

The judge in Jacobsen’s case did not allow a dog to accompany her on the witness stand but the animals helped her outside the courtroom, she said, during private questioning by defence lawyers and counselling sessions.

“It made it easier to talk knowing he was there,” said Jacobsen, now 23. “I was 16 or 17 at this time having to talk about very explicit, very uncomfortable things that I was not willing to say out loud.” – AP/ African News Agency (ANA)

PICTURE: AP/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY (ANA) Judge John Trucilla meets therapy dogs Jett, left, and True in his courtroom at the Erie County Courthouse, where therapy dogs visit courtrooms during children’s legal hearings. The use of dogs to comfort witnesses in court is increasing across the country.