Comments on: “Sometimes the dog means the difference between a conviction and an acquittal” https://www.overlawyered.com/2011/08/sometimes-the-dog-means-the-difference-between-a-conviction-and-an-acquittal/ Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:17:09 +0000 hourly 1 By: robert https://www.overlawyered.com/2011/08/sometimes-the-dog-means-the-difference-between-a-conviction-and-an-acquittal/comment-page-1/#comment-125150 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:17:09 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=24215#comment-125150 I love dogs, but seeing an alleged victim pull a stunt like that would cause me to discount everything she says. Fortunately, I have never been picked for a jury.

]]> By: Mannie https://www.overlawyered.com/2011/08/sometimes-the-dog-means-the-difference-between-a-conviction-and-an-acquittal/comment-page-1/#comment-125079 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:03:20 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=24215#comment-125079 I’m more concerned about the psychological impact on the witness. It can make it easier for a stressed witness to testify, but it can also make it easier for a liar to lie.

As a juror, I would be suspicious of a witness with an anxiety dog, but most jurors would probably go the other way. No worries, they won’t allow me within 1,000 metres of a jury room. 🙂

]]> By: David Schwartz https://www.overlawyered.com/2011/08/sometimes-the-dog-means-the-difference-between-a-conviction-and-an-acquittal/comment-page-1/#comment-125062 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:16:32 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=24215#comment-125062 If the argument is that the dog responds to stress, then isn’t the dog acting as a stress detector? If the jury can tell when the dog reacts, then the jury is being told when to think the witness is under stress and, by implication, when to think the witness is not under stress.

If the jury can see the dog, that’s a huge problem.

]]> By: CJohn https://www.overlawyered.com/2011/08/sometimes-the-dog-means-the-difference-between-a-conviction-and-an-acquittal/comment-page-1/#comment-125048 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:49:35 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=24215#comment-125048 I’ve seen this done before with therapy dogs, as well as with other service dogs, and the visual effect is less than you might think. The dog is in the witness box, and does little more than sit in the floor next to the witness, at most laying it’s head on her lap or giving her a comforting like on the ankle, all if which us hidden from the jurors’ view. The judge will give a bland explanation/instruction (whenever any service dog is present) along the lines of, “You may notice that the witness has brought a service animal with her….”, the implication being this could be a seeing-eye dog, an allergy dog, a seizure dog, etc. It’s really been a non-issue, at least for the non cat-people jurors.

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