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Posted by George W. Maschke
- Mar 16, 2005, 03:40 PMWhether a patient in the state of Iowa's Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (CCUSO), Cherokee Mental Health Institute, may read AntiPolygraph.org's free e-book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, was at issue in a recent federal civil suit (Willis v. Smith, et al.). Officials at the CCUSO, which relies heavily on polygraphs as part of its program, had intercepted and withheld a printout of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector that was mailed to patient Damon Montez Willis by a friend. Willis, who was civilly committed under Iowa law after serving some fifteen years in prison following his conviction for a sexually-based crime, filed the lawsuit against CCUSO officials, arguing that in their handling of his mail, they had violated his constitutional rights.
Jason Smith, the administrator of the facility, and Pat Steflik, the unit's clinical director, argued that providing The Lie Behind the Lie Detector to Mr. Willis would be "counter-therapeutic." Interestingly, according to the court, Smith admitted that "it is more important for patients to believe the polygraph is valid then [sic] for the test actually to be valid." Smith and Steflik were reportedly concerned that patients "might refuse to take a polygraph, or become angry and upset, if they were presented with the information in the book."
It seems clear that Smith and Steflik are concerned not so much with the well-being of the patients entrusted to their care as they are with protecting themselves from being held accountable by those patients for their ill-founded practice of making key decisions about treatment based on such junk science as the polygraph.
In a split-the-baby decision, the court ruled, among other things, that:
The unpublished ruling, No. C04-4012-MWB, dated 28 February 2005, by Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss, United States District Court for the District of Northern Iowa, is available here (114 kb PDF):
http://antipolygraph.org/litigation/willis/willis-v-smith.pdf
Jason Smith, the administrator of the facility, and Pat Steflik, the unit's clinical director, argued that providing The Lie Behind the Lie Detector to Mr. Willis would be "counter-therapeutic." Interestingly, according to the court, Smith admitted that "it is more important for patients to believe the polygraph is valid then [sic] for the test actually to be valid." Smith and Steflik were reportedly concerned that patients "might refuse to take a polygraph, or become angry and upset, if they were presented with the information in the book."
It seems clear that Smith and Steflik are concerned not so much with the well-being of the patients entrusted to their care as they are with protecting themselves from being held accountable by those patients for their ill-founded practice of making key decisions about treatment based on such junk science as the polygraph.
In a split-the-baby decision, the court ruled, among other things, that:
QuoteWillis should be given the book (Def. Ex. C), with the portions removed that the defendants have determined would be counter-therapeutic. In the court's view, this would include sections 3 and 4, and Appendices A, B, and F. Willis should be notified in writing of what portions of the book are being withheld, what subjects those portions discuss, and the professional judgment underlying the decision to withhold those portions.
The unpublished ruling, No. C04-4012-MWB, dated 28 February 2005, by Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss, United States District Court for the District of Northern Iowa, is available here (114 kb PDF):
http://antipolygraph.org/litigation/willis/willis-v-smith.pdf