A Black Hawk County judge has ruled a four-legged investigator can’t appear in court in an arson trial.42-year-old Emmett Johnson of Waterloo is charged with first-degree arson for allegedly setting his apartment on fire in September of 2000. Prosecutors had proposed having “Gidget,” a yellow lab who can detect accelerants used to start a fire, demonstrate her abilities during the trial. Gidget had apparently detected something on Johnson’s clothing that could’ve been used to start the fire. The judge ruled the dog’s demonstration would be unfairly prejudicial and possibly misleading, as the conditions in the courtroom would be different from those in the apartment where Johnson’s clothing was discovered.
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