COUNTY COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT GOODSTEIN LEAVE PETS AT HOME AFTER ‘ACCIDENT’ COMPLAINTS

Most people would assume that bringing pets into a $13 million courthouse would be a bad idea. A circuit court judge, certainly, would know this.

But that isn’t the case in Dorchester County, where Judge Diane Goodstein regularly brings her three dogs — a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, a Boykin spaniel and an Airedale — to the office.

And folks in St. George are beginning to complain that the dogs are more than a little messy; so much so that the County Council is asking Goodstein to stop bringing her dogs to work.

[B]ut there’s just one little problem. According to state law, council can’t set rules for what goes on in the courthouse it owns. Only the clerk of court can. So council has told County Attorney John Frampton to draft a letter “requesting” that animals, except for service animals, not be allowed on the premises.

“The taxpayers paying for the building don’t bring their dogs to work. Other county employees don’t bring their dogs to work. Frankly, I’m surprised I’m having to make this request,” Council Chairman Jamie Feltner said.

“What’s good for one ought to be good for all,” Councilman Willie Davis said .

The judge, who routinely brought her pets to the old courthouse that was vacated earlier this year, gave a surprised laugh when asked about the request.

“It’s a little bit of an embarrassment that it would be an issue,” she said. Her dogs are housebroken, trained and haven’t soiled the courthouse, she said. She thinks she might have started the “accident” rumor one day when she got down on her hands and knees to clean a construction worker’s mud tracks from the floor. [Charleston Post and Courier]

Here’s an idea: Rather than laugh about the complaints, Goodstein could probably just not bring her pets to the courthouse. Seems like the most logical solution to me.

She shouldn’t need a law or ruling to tell her that’s the most courteous thing to do.

If she can’t even handle this case, I would hate to think about how Goodstein rules on the bench.