Rosie, the first judicially approved courtroom dog in New York, was in the witness box at the Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie 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. When the trial ended in June with that incestuous scumbag’s conviction, the teenager was most grateful to Rosie. Now an appeal planned by the defense lawyers is placing Rosie, who was named after civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, at the heart of a legal debate that will test whether there will be more of the dogs in courtrooms in New York and, possibly, other states.
Defense lawyers argue that the dogs may unfairly sway jurors with their cuteness and the natural empathy they attract, whether a witness is telling the truth or not. That may be true, but the courtroom dogs can be a crucial comfort to those enduring the ordeal of testifying, especially children. Even though sometimes the dog means the difference between a conviction and an acquittal, that first-class loser, whose name is Victor Tohom, got exactly what he deserved (25 years to life).
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