These Dogs Go to Court for a Living

Not too long ago, a newspaper article caught my eye. A Florida judge and a black Labrador posed for the camera in the judge’s chambers. The title of the article read: Jacksonville judge wants dogs used in justice system. I’m a lawyer, I love animals, and so, of course, I’m going to continue reading.

I read on and learned that Judge Ferguson is a volunteer service dog trainer who wants to see more dogs in the courtroom. Aptly referred to as “courthouse dogs,” these dogs would provide emotional support for jurors, witnesses, and victims, and reduce stress for all those in the courtroom.

Fascinating idea.

I researched this some more. While Jacksonville, Florida does not yet have any emotional support dogs at its courthouses, other jurisdictions do, including Harris County in Texas and King County, Washington. A video of Labradors at King County courthouse in Washington State is shown below:

Debra S. Hart-Cohen, an attorney, wrote in Canines in the Courtroom that there is evidence that the use of emotional support dogs has had a positive effect on everyone in the courtroom. Bloggers and attorneys alike have also been extremely receptive to the use of emotional support dogs in the courts in The Bark and Dancing Dog Blog. (There is even a podcast about this here and there.)

So, what types of dogs are qualified to work in the courthouse, when is it appropriate for the dogs to greet jurors and assist witnesses, and how should the dogs behave in the courtroom? Courthouse Dogs provides answers to these questions at this webpage: Using a Facility Dog in the Courtroom. One of the key points that Courthouse Dogs make is that a courthouse dog is different from a therapy dog. A therapy dog is one that is always leashed and held on to its handler. In contrast, a courthouse dog is not leashed and the handler is not near the dog at any time during the court proceedings. Furthermore, unlike therapy dogs, courthouse dogs are not actively seeking the attention of all those in the courtroom. Rather, courthouse dogs must have the ability to sit or lie down next to jurors or witnesses for extended periods of time and must not do anything to interfere with the questioning of witnesses or court arguments between lawyers.

Although research have suggested that there are therapeutic use of animals, and that humans become more grounded and emotionally stable as a result of their interactions with dogs, the notion of courthouse dogs is quite new. It remains to be seen whether courthouse dogs will be deployed in all courthouses across the country.

Until I read about Judge Ferguson, I’d not heard of courthouse dogs. As of this writing, Wikipedia doesn’t even have an entry for this type of working dog. If you ever see a courthouse dog in New Jersey, please let me know.

© 2009, Matthew Stoloff. All rights reserved.

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