posted 04-01-2008 01:39 AM
Here is another story about polygraph.Man claims to be guilty in assault
By Jim Osborn josborn@columbustelegram.comMonday, Mar 31, 2008 - 11:29:16 am CDT
COLUMBUS -- A defense attorney for a Columbus man accused of a 2007 assault that left a Duncan man in a coma said a third man has confessed to the crime during a polygraph exam conducted by federal authorities.
The third man, identified as Chris-topher Shea in Platte County District Court, passed “with flying colors” a recent polygraph exam in which he admitted responsibility for the assault that left Randall Scott Michalak of Duncan in a coma, Omaha defense attorney Glenn Shapiro said.
Shapiro made the statement during a district court hearing on a motion to take a deposition from Shea prior to the trial of 26-year-old Bryan Groene, who has been charged with first-degree assault in the Aug. 10 beating of Michalak outside a city bar.
“Shea gave a statement (to federal authorities) that he committed the assault in this case,’’ Shapiro said. “He passed the polygraph across the board.”
Shapiro said he intends to call Shea as a witness at Groene’s trial slated to begin April 29. Groene has also been charged with being a habitual criminal.
Platte County Attorney Andrea Belgau acknowledged that Shea had confessed to the assault during the polygraph exam, but questioned his credibility as a witness. The prosecutor said other witnesses identified Groene as the individual who committed the assault.
Belgau said a jury will judge the credibility of the witnesses at trial.
Judge Robert Steinke granted Shapiro’s motion to question Shea under oath in a deposition prior to trial. The judge also agreed to lower Groene’s bond from 10 percent of $100,000 to 10 percent of $25,000.
First-degree assault is a Class III felony, punishable by a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, $25,000 fine or both and a minimum of one year imprisonment.
Groene has been in custody at the Platte County Detention Facility since his arrest last August.
Shea has been indicted on drug charges by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Omaha. He underwent the polygraph exam in connection with the federal drug investigation.
Polygraph exam results are rarely admissible as evidence in court. New Mexico is the only state that allows for open admissibility of polygraph exam results. Every other state requires some type of stipulation to be met prior to admitting polygraph exams into the court record.
Shapiro said if Groene was released from the county jail after making the lower bond, his client would still remain in custody. The Nebraska Department of Corrections has placed a parole hold on Groene if he is released on bond for the assault charge.
Groene’s bond release on the assault charge would trigger the parole hold, Shapiro said. “(Making bond) would allow him to deal with his parole issues.”
Groene was paroled in June from the Nebraska State Penitentiary. He was released June 21, just 49 days before his arrest in the assault outside Reeves Bar in the 2500 block of 11th Street.
The city man had served slightly more than two years of a 38-month to eight-year sentence for his convictions on possession of methamphetamine and failure to appear charges following a district court trial in May 2005.
If convicted of the pending charge in district court, Groene will be subject to the state’s habitual criminal law based on his previous criminal record.
Nebraska’s habitual criminal statutes provide for enhanced mandatory minimum and maximum sentences for a convicted defendant who “has been twice convicted of a crime, sentenced and committed to prison, in this or any other state ... for terms of not less than one year.”
A conviction on the current charge would be Groene’s third felony conviction for the purposes of the habitual criminal law.
As a habitual criminal, Groene could be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum of 60 years.
Polygraph Place Bulletin Board
posted 03-31-2008 01:38 AM
posted 04-03-2008 05:33 AM
