The Supreme Court has ruled that Pennsylvania judges can now allow witnesses to be accompanied by comfort dogs when testifying in court during criminal trials. This decision started when a witness with autism used an emotional support dog to take a stand in a murder trial.

This ruling comes with a condition: The animal must not interfere with the defendant’s right to a fair trial. There are defense attorneys that argue that having a dog beside a witness can make the jury sympathetic to the testifying person and creating a prejudice against the defendant.

One strategy that counters this argument is to hide the dog on the witness stand during the trial. This was done during a Chester County murder case and has proven that the use of comfort dogs does not influence a jury’s decision.

Pennsylvania now joins Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, and Connecticut as one of the states that permits the use of comfort dogs in their courtrooms.

Source: PHILLY VOICE

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