PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that comfort dogs can be used in courtrooms to support testifying witnesses, as long as there is no prejudice against any party in the case.
Until now, there was nothing on the books that definitively allowed or didn't allow the animals in the courtroom.
"The dog is really just there to take the witness' focus off of the stressful nature of the proceedings," said attorney Karl Myers, with Center City firm Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.
Last March, Myers and another colleague asked, on behalf of animal rights advocates, prosecutors and members of the faith community, that comfort dogs be officially permitted in Pennsylvania courtrooms. The state's high court ruled in favor, as long as a balance test is done.
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"While you are doing that balancing, you don't want the dog to become a side show," said Myers, who added one way that some judges prevent that from happening is keeping the dog out of the jury's sight.
"I think the message that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has sent is, we want to make sure we treat people with respect and that we protect them and we accommodate them whenever we can, and I think that is a very healthy message, a very positive message and I think it goes a long way to supporting public confidence in the judiciary."
Myers said the next step is to secure funding to expand comfort dog programs in Pennsylvania.
