Courthouse Dogs Act

Courthouse Dogs Act

This bill authorizes federal courts to allow a certified facility dog to accompany a witness testifying in a criminal proceeding.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5403 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5403

To allow the use of certified facility dogs in criminal proceedings in 
                Federal courts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2019

 Ms. Scanlon (for herself and Mr. Rutherford) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To allow the use of certified facility dogs in criminal proceedings in 
                Federal courts, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Courthouse Dogs Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF CERTIFIED FACILITY DOG FOR TESTIMONY IN CRIMINAL 
              PROCEEDINGS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 223 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 3502 the following:
``Sec. 3503. Use of certified facility dog for testimony in criminal 
              proceedings
    ``(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term `certified facility 
dog' means a dog that has graduated from an assistance dog organization 
that is a member of an internationally recognized assistance dog 
association that has a primary purpose of granting accreditation based 
on standards of excellence in areas of--
            ``(1) assistance dog acquisition;
            ``(2) dog training;
            ``(3) dog handler training; and
            ``(4) dog placement.
    ``(b) Requests for Use of Certified Facility Dogs.--Either party in 
a criminal proceeding in a Federal court may apply for an order from 
the court to allow a certified facility dog, if available, to be 
present with a witness testifying before the court through--
            ``(1) in-person testimony; or
            ``(2) testimony televised by 2-way, closed-circuit 
        television.
    ``(c) Conditions for Approval.--A Federal court may enter an order 
authorizing an available certified facility dog to accompany a witness 
while testifying at a hearing in accordance with subsection (b) if the 
court finds that--
            ``(1) the dog to be used qualifies as a certified facility 
        dog;
            ``(2) the use of a certified facility dog will aid the 
        witness in providing testimony; and
            ``(3) upon a showing by the party seeking an order under 
        subsection (b), the certified facility dog is insured for 
        liability protection.
    ``(d) Handlers.--Each certified facility dog authorized to 
accompany a witness under subsection (c) shall be accompanied by a 
handler who is--
            ``(1) trained to manage the certified facility dog by an 
        assistance dog organization described in subsection (a); and
            ``(2) a professional working in the legal system with 
        knowledge about the legal and criminal justice processes.
    ``(e) Deadline.--The party seeking an order under subsection (b) 
shall apply for such order not later than 14 days before the 
preliminary hearing, trial date, or other hearing to which the order is 
to apply.
    ``(f) Other Orders.--A Federal court may make such orders as may be 
necessary to preserve the fairness of the proceeding, including 
imposing restrictions on, and instructing the jury regarding, the 
presence of the certified facility dog during the proceedings.
    ``(g) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to prevent a Federal court from providing any other accommodations to a 
witness in accordance with applicable law.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 223 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 3502 the following:

``3503. Use of certified facility dog for testimony in criminal 
                            proceedings.''.
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