02/14/2023
Can your client pass a law enforcement polygraph?
Clients often minimize or fail to provide critical details that could be potentially devastating to their defense and embarrassing to recover in a legal proceeding. Clients taking a private polygraph examination afford you the opportunity to weigh the information collected and the examination results without any knowledge to adversarial counsel unless you utilize and release the information for your client’s advantage.
A successful polygraph examination can be of assistance to you as a defendant's attorney in a variety of cases. Criminal, civil, insurance disputes, bankruptcy law, compensation, marital and family law, s*x abuse allegations, real estate law; any case that revolves around a factual dispute between two parties.
Utilizing a private polygraph examination prevents providing adversarial counsel the opportunity to conduct discovery about your case directly from a client since you never know what question the prosecutor's examiner will ask during the examination or interviews. Reponses from your client during any portion of the examination could significantly affect your case. Polygraph examiners are traditionally professional interviewers and interrogators and elicit information throughout the entire polygraph examination.
If the client is determined non-deceptive to the offense or disputed issue from the polygraph examination, the prosecuting attorney may request a copy of the examiner's written report to determine exact questions asked of the defendant. The questions asked of the defendant will directly address the issue under investigation. The prosecutor may also review the test structure, perhaps with another polygraph examiner, to determine a properly conducted test based upon the standard guidelines and procedures for each type of examination given. If there is a question about the original polygraph results, a request to the defendant to submit to a second examination under the scrutiny of the prosecution may occur, or the prosecutor could arrange for a second examiner to evaluate the subject's polygraph charts to review the reliability of the first decision.
Prosecutors may take into consideration the results of polygraph examinations. A prosecutor has nothing to lose and a great deal to gain by offering a criminal suspect a polygraph examination with the understanding that the results may be "considered" in making an informed decision, since criminal prosecution evidentiary standard is “beyond a reasonable doubt”. Civil litigation evidentiary standard requires facts supporting a preponderance of the evidence. Non-deceptive polygraph examinations could sway the prosecutor to seriously review the evidence against the suspect and consider the possibility that law enforcement or the plaintiff misinterpreted evidence or overlooked other possible suspects or information supporting alternative theories . This is especially true when the evidence against a defendant is circumstantial or based on an eyewitness or victim's account.
A prosecutor has a responsibility not only to the crime victim, but makes every reasonable effort to avoid charging an innocent person with a crime. A polygraph examination, when conducted by a competent examiner, offers highly accurate results, which, in most cases support the police investigation. In those instances when a defendant does produce non-deceptive polygraph results, the prosecutor should re-evaluate the evidence or strongly consider the probability that the defendant is innocent. In cases where a victim's statements are suspicious or because of a suspect being non-deceptive in a polygraph examination, and where not prohibited by law, a prosecutor should consider asking the victim to take a polygraph examination. In addition to pre-trial applications, polygraph examinations occupy increased utilization in pre-sentence investigations and as a condition of probation and probation.
DPE Polygraph customizes Specific Issue polygraph examinations around defense attorney's needs. This polygraph program allows defense attorneys to better defend their client or shape their defense strategy, by putting pressure on the prosecution or by being ready for any circumstance during trial.
The specific issues polygraph examinations are ideally suited for:
• Specific act or behavior is in question
• Statement confirmation (accused or witness)
• False allegations/accusations
• Verifying truthfulness of testimonies
• Disputed facts
Thanks,
Mike
