Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
In a ruling handed down Wed., 5 November 2003 in Idaho v. Perry, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled polygraph evidence inadmissible. Craig T. Perry had sought the admission of testimony by Dr. Charles R. Honts regarding a polygraph examination that he administered. Download Idaho Supreme Court 2003 Ruling No. 109 (33 kb PDF).
This UPI article is cited here in full: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Sept. 10 (UPI) — A New Mexico judge has recommended the state discontinue using lie detector results in court, saying the tests are too unreliable. New Mexico is the only state to routinely permit the results of polygraph, or lie detector, tests to be entered …
Richard A. Muller, a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, writes for Technology Review. Erroneously assuming that polygraphy is a valid diagnostic technique with an 85% accuracy rate, and ignoring the issue of countermeasures, Muller concludes that polygraph “evidence” should be admissible in court: Now we come to the true paradox. Lie detector …
John Cook reports for the Seattle Intelligencer in an article titled “Judge frees Znetix pair from prison; death plot discounted.” Excerpt: Znetix defendants Michael Culp and Steven Reimer have been released from prison after a federal judge discounted statements of convicted bank robber Darres Park, who testified that the two men discussed killing an FBI …
The following was posted to the SW Virginia law blog : Polygraph evidence inadmissible in probation hearing In White v. Com., the Virginia Court of Appeals in an opinion by Judge Benton joined by Judge Clements and Senior Judge Hodges held that evidence that a probationer failed a polygraph test is inadmissible in a hearing …
The Post of Perth, West Australia, reports in an article titled, “QC asks judges to visit scene of ’94 murder.” Excerpt: On Tuesday night, some TV news bulletins showed interviews with a Mallard family member, and several, including the 7.30 Report, showed videotape of Mallard doing an electronic lie detector test. A longer segment on …
David Darragh reports for the West Australian on the appeal of convicted murderer Andrew Mallard, who has sought the admission of polygraph results. THE Court of Criminal Appeal has criticised heavily what it described as emotive and one-sided television news reports of convicted murderer Andrew Mallard’s appeal that could influence witnesses at the hearing. Mallard’s …
The Sunday Times reports that “[the] admissibility of lie detector tests in criminal trials will be tested for the first time in a superior Australian court when an appeal against a 1994 murder conviction goes to the West Australian Supreme Court this week.”
Phil Trexler of the Beacon Journal reports on the exoneration of Jimmy “Spunk” Willams, who was wrongfully convicted of raping a child, in an article titled “A wrong is officially righted.” Williams was convicted in part on the basis of his having failed a polygraph “test.” Excerpt: Further harming Williams’ case was an agreement between …
Staff writer Sharron Haley reports for the Sumter, South Carolina Item. Excerpt: MANNING — In what some are calling a landmark decision, At-Large Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman allowed a defense attorney to introduce results from a polygraph test in the murder trial of Anthony Ray White. White, who authorities say did not appear to …