hi_and_lois wrote on Mar 1
st, 2007 at 5:00am:
Polygraph test next week.
Scenario:
Guy at work does something bad. Guy at work is a 'friend', I am called in to the by people with the U.S. Justice Depo, and they demand that I tell them what I know. I know nothing, I tell them so, and they persist. Finally, I agree to a polygraph. I did this to get them away from me, and from reading this site I wish I hadn't ever even spoken with them.
Issue at hand-
I know nothing of the crime, I was not told nor did I see said crime. I downplayed my friendship with this person for several reasons.
Scared because:
I'm always nervous, especially around the police. Know I'm not involved in the case in any way, but fear they will pursue interogation of me if the friendship issue comes up.
What's the deal. I told them I would take it, and I certainly would look like I knew something if I refused. But man, this could ruin my life and I don't know anything.
I think you should refuse the polygraph, get a lawyer, and not speak with investigators again in the absence of legal counsel. If you don't have a lawyer, you might find Martindale's free
Lawyer Locator service helpful for finding one. Once you've gotten a lawyer, you may explain that you are refusing the polygraph based on your lawyer's advice. (If you encounter a lawyer who suggests that you go ahead and take the polygraph, take that as a sign of incompetence and find someone better qualified.)
Do not worry about looking suspicious for refusing the polygraph. The Justice Department is already suspicious of you, otherwise you would not have been asked to take a polygraph. The "test" has
no scientific basis, and the Justice Department
knows that it's unreliable. But it serves as a convenient pretext for interrogating you in the absence of legal counsel. (Polygraphers claim that no one but the examiner and the examinee may be present in the polygraph suite, as the presence of others would interfere with the "test." This is a lie. The real reason is that they don't want any pesky lawyers interfering with the interrogation.) And keep in mind that should you be persuaded, cajoled, or browbeaten by your polygraph interrogator into contradicting anything that you have previously stated, you risk being charged with a violation of
United States Code Title 18, Section 1001 (lying to a federal official).
For more information about polygraph validity, policy, and procedure, see
The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, and for a preview of the sorts of interrogation tactics you might encounter should you disregard my advice and go ahead with the polygraph, see the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute's
Interview & Interrogation Handbook.