Polygraph Test

Answer:

We get a lot of questions involving polygraphs, including whether or not they are reliable enough to be admissible in court. Broadly, polygraphs are not admissible in court. They’re helpful for investigative purposes, sometimes. They are helpful for settlement purposes, too, and getting prosecutors to back down off of charges, sometimes. When it comes down to trial, however, is it going to be absolutely admissible? No, because there’s a good deal of case law that states they’re really not as reliable as we would expect them to be. Are they useful sometimes? Yes. Are they admissible all the time? No.

You would want to sit and talk with an attorney about it. They can really give you the breakdown of the law. It’s a very complex analysis, but sometimes the polygraph is useful. We’ve used it before, but we don’t rely on it when it comes down to trial, and no attorney will. We urge you to talk with your attorney about it and see if this polygraph is useful or not and if its usefulness is worth the cost of it. Talk to your lawyer. Call our office. We’d be certainly happy to discuss it with you.