New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Defendants May Cross-Examine Prosecution Witnesses about Polygraph Results

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On 17 July 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in State v. Castagna et al. that the trial court erred in not permitting the defendants, who were charged for the killing of a bar patron, to present evidence that a prosecution witness, Violet Arias, had failed a polygraph examination administered by New Jersey State … Read more

To Catch a Liar

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The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television program Catalyst examined lie detection in an episode titled, “To Catch a Liar”: How good are you at spotting a lie? We’re lied to up to 100 times a day, yet research shows fewer than one in a 1000 people can reliably detect lies. But science has declared a … Read more

California Court to Rely on Polygraphs for Sentencing Rapists

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Chris Durant of the Eureka, California Times-Standard reports in “Rape sentencing awaiting polygraph results”: EUREKA — The four men who are accused of holding a woman in their Whitethorn home in March and repeatedly raping her entered guilty pleas to some charges Monday, but their exact sentences won’t be determined until after each are polygraphed. … Read more

Antipolygraph Legislation Advances in Israel

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A committee of the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, is proceding with legislation that would ban polygraphs from the workplace. Sheera Claire Frankel reports for the Jerusalem Post: The Knesset Labor, Health and Sports Committee moved forward on a law to ban the use of Knesset polygraph testing in the workplace on Monday. MK Zahava Gal-On … Read more

Lie Catchers Stand by Their Polygraphs

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Christian Toto writes for the Metro section of today’s (29 June 2006) Washington Times in “Lie catchers stand by their polygraphs.” The article is cited here in its entirety, interspersed with commentary: Detective Leonard Keeler developed the first lie detector — or polygraph — test in the 1930s, and the machines used today are not … Read more

ACLU Seeks Information About Government Use of Brain Scanners in Interrogations

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The American Civil Liberties Union today issued the following press release: ACLU Seeks Information About Government Use of Brain Scanners in Interrogations (6/28/2006) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: media@aclu.org Group Says Technology Should Not Be Deployed Until It Is Proven Effective NEW YORK– In the face of suspicions that the government is using cutting-edge brain-scanning technologies … Read more

NPR: The Future of Lie Detecting

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On Monday, 26 June 2006, in a segment titled “The Future of Lie Detecting,” National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program addressed fMRI-based lie detectors, which are soon to be marketed by two new start-up companies, No Lie MRI and Cephos Corporation. Guests on the show were University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist and fMRI lie-detection … Read more

MRI tests offer glimpse at brains behind the lies

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Richard Wiling of USA Today reported on Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)-based lie detection in the 27 June edition in an article titled, “MRI tests offer glimpse at brains behind the lies:”

Two companies plan to market the first lie-detecting devices that use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and say the new tests can spot liars with 90% accuracy.

No Lie MRI plans to begin offering brain-based lie-detector tests in Philadelphia in late July or August, says Joel Huizenga, founder of the San Diego-based start-up. Cephos Corp. of Pepperell, Mass., will offer a similar service later this year using MRI machines at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, says its president, Steven Laken.

Both rely in part on recent research funded by the federal government aimed at producing a foolproof method of detecting deception.

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Joel Shurkin on Polygraph “Testing”

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Writer-historian Joel Shurkin comments on polygraphy in an entry on his Of Cabbages and Kings blog titled, “Liar, liar pants on fire. OK, maybe not.” Significantly, Shurkin notes that an article he once wrote for a major science magazine was suppressed because of outside pressure on the editor.

Polygraph Test Results Vary Among Agencies

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Washington Post staff writer Shankar Vedantam, who in May reported with Dan Eggen on the FBI and CIA’s questionable reliance on polygraphy, follows up with a new front page story titled, “Polygraph Readings Vary Among Agencies.” In this story, Vedantam addresses the experiences of victims of the polygraph. Excerpt: The National Security Agency denied a … Read more