Polygraph

Polygraph Exams Continue in Greensboro

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Greensboro, North Carolina News & Record staff writer Eric Swensen provides an update on the polygraphing of the city council and mayor. Some of those polygraphed aren’t saying how they fared on the box. Excerpt: GREENSBORO — Exam week will come to an end today with polygraph tests of three more City Council members. But … Read more

2nd Circuit Approves Post-Release Use of Polygraph

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Mike Hamblett writes for the New York Law Journal in an article carried by Law.com:

2nd Circuit Approves Post-Release Use of Polygraph

Mark Hamblett
New York Law Journal
05-04-2006
Polygraph examinations for defendants being monitored by probation officials can be used to determine compliance with the terms of their supervised release, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Deciding the issue for the first time, the circuit said a polygraph meets the test for federal sentencing policy — that the “conditions of supervised release impose no greater restraint than reasonably necessary to promote sentencing goals.”

In United States v. Johnson, 04-4992, the court also found that the use of a polygraph on a convicted sex offender does not violate the Fifth Amendment right against self-discrimination.

Judges Dennis Jacobs, Jose Cabranes and Robert Sack ruled for the circuit, with Judge Jacobs writing for the panel.

The appeal was filed by Jeffrey A. Johnson, a convicted sex offender who was challenging the terms of his supervised release imposed by Northern District of New York Judge Thomas McAvoy.

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Polygraphing of Greensboro City Council Begins

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Greensboro, North Carolina News & Record staff writer Eric Swensen reports on the first day of polygraph “testing” of the city council:

Polygraphs off to unusual start

By Eric Swensen
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — One council member says she passed, one wouldn’t say how he fared, and the mayor blamed the newspaper as the City Council began taking polygraph exams regarding the leak of an investigative report to the News & Record.

The council members who agreed to take the tests have said their intent has been to make a public statement about their innocence in the leak of the police department report. One member also said the tests would help restore the city manager’s trust in the council.

But the day got off to an inauspicious start. Media covering the proceedings were told the test site had been changed but weren’t told where. The exams eventually ended up where they started — in the executive offices at the Melvin Municipal Office Building.

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Melissa Mahle on CIA Use of Polygraphs

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In a blog entry titled “Leakscape,” retired CIA officer Melissa Mahle discusses, among other things, the unreliability of the polygraph: The polygraph is a very blunt instrument and not accurate. If an officer registers any discomfort on a question, the polygrapher will hone in on the issue. After being asked the same question 100 times, … Read more

Polygraph Results Often in Question: CIA, FBI Defend Test’s Use in Probes

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Today’s lead story in the Washington Post by staff writers Dan Eggen and Shankar Vedantam takes a critical look at expanding governmental reliance on lie detectors. The article is cited here in full, interspersed with commentary. A discussion of this article is also available on the AntiPolygraph.org message board here. Polygraph Results Often in Question … Read more

The Tennesean Supports State Ban on Polygraphing Rape Victims

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In an editorial titled, “Don’t accuse rape victims,” The Tennesean voices it support for legislation that would outlaw the wrongheaded police practice of requiring those who report having been the victims of rape to submit to a lie detector “test” before investigating the complaint: Monday, 05/01/06 Don’t accuse rape victims A rape victim shouldn’t be … Read more

Can We Trust Polygraphs?

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Former CIA and State Department analyst and frequent news commentator Larry Johnson raises the question and forwards a letter from AntiPolygraph.org’s George Maschke. This article is also posted on Johnson’s blog, No Quarter.

Greensboro Polygraph Follies Update

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Polygraph “testing” of eight of nine Greensboro City Council members appears set to begin this week in an ostensible attempt to discover who amongst them provided an investigative report on the city’s former police chief to the local News & Record newspaper. To date, none of the city council members have responded to George Maschke’s e-mail cautioning them about polygraphy’s lack of scientific basis, inherent bias against the truthful, and vulnerability to simple countermeasures.

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