Doggone it. Navigating the legal system can be “ruff.” Sometimes it’s a walk in the park; other times you find yourself barking up the wrong tree and have to hit the “paws” button.
Fortunately, you won’t find terrible dog puns like this in the latest issue of Washington State Bar News, but the new edition of the WSBA member magazine tells the endearing “tail” of the Courthouse Dogs Foundation. This project began in King County when a service dog, Jeeter, was brought to work one day at the King County Courthouse. It was just the right bit of serendipity to spark a new idea.
“Jeeter’s effect was immediate and unmistakable,” writes Tracey Fitzgerald, a strategic communications leader with TMF Communications and a board director for the Courthouse Dogs Foundation. “Children who couldn’t speak were able to relax and express themselves. Teens in crisis were able to open up and feel a moment of calm by petting the dog. Fear receded just enough for people to find their words.”
This issue of Bar News explores the history, impacts, and, let’s face it, utter adorableness of courthouse dogs—from Jeeter to Ellie to Errol.
“The idea of integrating dogs into the justice system wasn’t merely intuitive; it was grounded in research,” writes Fitzgerald. “Studies show that petting a dog can reduce the physical symptoms of stress, including lowering blood pressure, slowing and regulating heart rate, and improving memory recall. Additionally, physical contact with a dog increases oxytocin levels. For witnesses grappling with trauma, these physiological responses can mean the difference between silence and speech.”
And that’s not the only ball worth chasing in this issue.
In 2023, a murder case involving a New York architect served as a legal testing ground for the validity of a new type of DNA analysis: Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). Dr. Kelley Harris, an associate professor in the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington and an affiliate faculty member in Computational Biology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, was called to testify as an expert witness for the prosecution. In this article, Harris and Leron Vandsburger, associate IP counsel at ThermoFisher Scientific, discuss the current legal framework in Washington when it comes to WGS, and explain the science behind this high-resolution DNA analysis.
Also in this issue, look at the unique types of personal injury cases that commonly arise in places like the Pacific Northwest; explore the ethics of protecting client confidentiality when crossing international borders; learn about our Pro Bono Organization of the Month, Inland Empire Legal Aid; and read our regular columns and features.
