Can defendants do a private polygraph to prove they are innocent?

A private polygraph test is when a defense attorney hires an examiner and their client willingly takes a lie detector test in order to demonstrate that he or she is being truthful about a matter.  This is frequently done in criminal cases to exonerate a defendant.  The lie detector tests are used in cases involving either misdemeanor or felony offenses.

The tests are considered “private” because the defendant is not obligated to tell the prosecutor or authorities that the test is taken.

The examiner asks subjects whether they committed the crime. If they answer no and the test indicates truthfulness, these results can be given to the prosecutor in the hopes of getting the case dismissed. If the polygraph indicates the subject is being untruthful, then the test and the results are kept secret.

It might be strategic for a defendant to take a private polygraph in three situations.  These are the most commonly used situations by a defense attorney:

  1. try and dismiss a charge during the pretrial process,
  2. persuade a prosecutor to agree to use a second test at trial, and
  3. convince the defendant to enter into a plea bargain, or plead no contest.

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