Building stronger bonds of connection

My family went to a Peter Yarrow concert yesterday in Great Barrington, and building stronger bonds is what he likes to talk about. He’s got his http://www.operationrescue.org and “Don’t Laugh at Me” song going strong, and its all about building bonds through music.

My son’s school includes civil rights throughout the curriculum, and we have a neighbor who was a Tuskegee Airman and MLK’s body guard. On our car ride on Friday night, Isaac asked us about why sometimes good people go to jail like Mr. Mandela and Rev. King. When Peter Yarrow sang “Have you been to jail for justice” it really connected for my son.

Work is going well. I’ll be reconnected with a couple if not more Synergos Board members past and present as the World Policy Institute has just hired my firm.

You are always inspiring. Be well.

Debbie

Nadine,
I am enjoying your updates.
My work (professional and volunteer) uses my dog(s) to assist me. see below for an interesting NY Timess article.
Hope to see you in the near future,
Sherry

By WILLIAM GLABERSON

Published: August 8, 2011

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Rosie, the first judicially approved courtroom dog in New York, was in the witness box here 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 the father’s conviction, the teenager “was most grateful to Rosie above all,” said David A. Crenshaw, a psychologist who works with the teenager.

“She just kept hugging Rosie,” he continued.

Now an appeal planned by the defense lawyers is placing Rosie at the heart of a legal debate that will test whether there will be more Rosies in courtrooms in New York and, possibly, other states.

Rosie is a golden retriever therapy dog who specializes in comforting people when they are under stress. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers have described her as adorable, though she has been known to slobber.

Prosecutors here noted that she is also in the vanguard of a growing trial trend: in Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana and some other states in the last few years, courts have allowed such trained dogs to offer children and other vulnerable witnesses nuzzling solace in front of juries.

The new role for dogs as testimony enablers can, however, raise thorny legal questions. 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, and some prosecutors insist that the courtroom dogs can be a crucial comfort to those enduring the ordeal of testifying, especially children.

The new witness-stand role for dogs in several states began in 2003, when the prosecution won permission for a dog named Jeeter with a beige button nose to help in a sexual assault case in Seattle. “Sometimes the dog means the difference between a conviction and an acquittal,” said Ellen O’Neill-Stephens, a prosecutor there who has become a campaigner for the dog-in-court cause.

Service dogs have long been permitted in courts. But in a ruling in June that allowed Rosie to accompany the teenage rape victim to the trial here, a Dutchess County Court judge, Stephen L. Greller, said the teenager was traumatized and the defendant, Victor Tohom, appeared threatening. Although he said there was no precedent in the state, Judge Greller ruled that Rosie was similar to the teddy bear that a New York appeals court said in 1994 could accompany a child witness.

At least once when the teenager hesitated in Judge Greller’s courtroom, the dog rose and seemed to push the girl gently with her nose. Mr. Tohom was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life.

His lawyers, David S. Martin and Steven W. Levine of the public defender’s office, have raised a series of objections that they say seems likely to land the case in New York’s highest court. They argue that as a therapy dog, Rosie responds to people under stress by comforting them, whether the stress comes from confronting a guilty defendant or lying under oath.

But they say jurors are likely to conclude that the dog is helping victims expose the truth. “Every time she stroked the dog,” Mr. Martin said in an interview, “it sent an unconscious message to the jury that she was under stress because she was telling the truth.”

“There was no way for me to cross-examine the dog,” Mr. Martin added.

In written arguments, the defense lawyers claimed it was “prosecutorial misconduct” for the Dutchess County assistant district attorney handling the rape case, Kristine Hawlk, to arrange for Rosie to be taken into the courtroom. Cute as the dog was, the defense said, Rosie’s presence “infected the trial with such unfairness” that it constituted a violation of their client’s constitutional rights.

Nadine, your article about “How Deeply Engaging Stakeholders Changes Everything” was excellent! The phrase: “HRE is meaningful engagement among stakeholders on boards” –really resonated with me.
I am currently building a new search firm, Diversity in Boardrooms℠, which will positively impact the American economy by referring diverse candidates who have excellent expertise that match company needs, AND who are focused on increasing the bottom line while seriously considering socially responsible solutions. We will recruit and refer Directors who are always mindful of the unifying goal to increase company profitability and stakeholder value—remembering that stakeholders are employees, investors, and the community.
Let’s reconnect when you return to the States!
Best wishes to you, Cindy Burrell, President, Diversity in Boardrooms℠
847-807-5334 cindycburrell@gmail.com

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