Polygraph admissibility: Changes and challenges.

Abstract

Polygraph tests are psychological tests that are widely applied in the criminal justice system, but they are rarely administered or studied by psychologists. Two recent federal appeals court decisions may have opened the door to the admissibility of polygraph tests by displacing the long controlling Frye standard. However, these courts have also raised a number of challenges that must be overcome before polygraph tests will be regularly admitted into evidence. We examined the logic of these two recent decisions and the challenges they raise, and we found those challenges to be significant and perhaps daunting. Many of the challenges facing polygraph arise from poor training and a lack of standardization in the polygraph profession. We consider some potential solutions, but the outlook for change in the polygraph community is dim unless it is forced by the courts or by legislation. Polygraph tests are also challenged by potentially effective countermeasures, and there presently are no easy solutions to those problems. Increased activity and interest are needed from the scientific community if the general situation is to improve.

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