Rosie, the first judicially approved courtroom dog in New York, was in the witness box here nuzzling a 15-year-old girl who was testifying that her father had raped and impregnated her. Rosie sat by the teenager’s feet. At particularly bad moments, she leaned in.The defence is arguing in their appeal that dogs like Rosie respond to stress regardless of whether it is reliving painful memories or lying under oath. They say that juries are likely to respond to the presence of the dogs as supporting the idea that the witness is telling the truth.
When the trial ended in June with the father’s conviction, the teenager “was most grateful to Rosie above all,” said David A. Crenshaw, a psychologist who works with the teenager.
“She just kept hugging Rosie,” he continued.
Now an appeal planned by the defense lawyers is placing Rosie at the heart of a legal debate that will test whether there will be more Rosies in courtrooms in New York and, possibly, other states.
I don't think the presence and nudgings of a dog would affect my decision as juror, when the evidence is the key to a judgment. (Of course, having served on a jury, I see how people let their emotions sway them. Thank goodness ours was a civil and not criminal case, where you only need agreement between 9 of 12 jurors, because I was the sticking point when they tried to run amok about things that had no bearing on the case, like whether their grandmothers had been treated badly by car dealers. (it was a dealership being sued.) I kid you not.)
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