Opinion ID: 545175
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Witness Brown's Reference to a Polygraph Test

Text: 7 Defendants Walton, Mitchell, and White challenge a passing reference by Russell Brown, a government witness, to a polygraph examination. The reference occurred during Brown's direct examination by the Assistant United States Attorney: 8 Q All right. Did you tell the DEA agent Dodson something about the cocaine business in Flint? 9 A Yes. 10 Q Why did you do that? 11 A Well I thought it would help with my case. 12 Q The uttering and publishing charge was pending against you then? 13 A Right. 14 Q Okay. And you spoke with the DEA agent Dodson at that time? 15 A Right. 16 Q As a result of your conversation with Agent Dodson, were you called to a Grand Jury? 17 A No. I had to take a polygraph before that. 18 Following Brown's mention of the polygraph, defense counsel asked for and received a sidebar conference and moved for a mistrial. The court denied the motion but agreed to accept briefs on the subject. Following the sidebar conference, the government, in an attempt to minimize any possible prejudice from the witness' answer, asked the court to strike the witness' answer as nonresponsive and to instruct the jury to disregard it. The court advised the jury that the answer was not responsive to the question asked by the prosecutor, ordered the response stricken, and advised the jury to disregard it. No other reference to this or any other polygraph examination was made at any time during the five-week trial. 19 The following day, the court heard argument on the motion for a mistrial. Brown was examined outside of the jury's hearing. He testified that the polygraph examination he took was actually requested and administered by county prosecutors, not by any federal agent or prosecutor. He also stated that he never mentioned the polygraph examination to any federal agent or Assistant United States Attorney involved in the case and had no way of knowing whether the Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting the case knew he had taken a polygraph examination. The court again denied the motion for a mistrial and found that the government had not intended the reference to the polygraph. Although noting that the prosecutor had stated that the witness' unresponsive statement might have been deliberate, the court found that there was no evidence that Brown had made the statement in a deliberate attempt to prejudice the defense. At this hearing, the government also offered to stipulate that no agent of the United States had requested that a polygraph test be given to Brown and no agent of the United States had been informed of the results of any polygraph test Brown may have taken. Defense counsel declined to have the stipulation read to the jury. 20 Brown's testimony concerned, among other things: (1) a shipment of frozen fish containing hidden packages of cocaine that he transported for White, (2) his work for White breaking down several one kilogram shipments of cocaine into one ounce packages for resale, (3) his knowledge that Mitchell, then a police officer for the city of Flint, delivered cocaine for White, and (4) his observation that Walton often made cocaine pickups with White. Brown, who was in prison on other charges at the time of his testimony, admitted that he only agreed to testify in hope of receiving leniency in a state prosecution and a $2,000 payment by the federal government. Thus the credibility of his testimony was disputed. 21 Other witnesses and evidence also linked Walton, Mitchell, and White to the conspiracy. For example, Rolando Hernandez, who supplied White with bulk quantities of cocaine, testified to his supply activities and to Walton's actions as a courier for and confidante of White. Dennis Barker, who like Brown was only involved intermittently in White's operations, provided additional evidence against Mitchell. He testified that he had seen Mitchell, often in uniform, receiving large lots of cocaine from White for delivery. Phone wiretaps and a microphone located in White's house provided strong evidence against White and Walton and at least some additional evidence against Mitchell. 22 The defendants argue that any mention of a polygraph examination by a government witness should result in a mistrial, at least where that witness' testimony is important to the government's case. The defendants also argue that because Brown is a convicted felon we should presume he is sophisticated in matters of criminal procedure and intentionally referred to the polygraph in order to bolster his credibility. The District Court refused to find that the government had any advance knowledge that Brown would mention the polygraph test. Although the court acknowledged the possibility that Brown may have made the reference intentionally, it concluded there was no evidence to support this proposition and refused to create a presumption in favor of the defendants. 23 Had the District Court found that the government intended Brown to introduce the information concerning the polygraph examination, the reference might lead to reversal under circuit precedent. In United States v. Murray, 784 F.2d 188 (6th Cir.1986), for example, we held that a defendant's conviction must be reversed where an experienced FBI agent stated that he had asked the defendant to take a polygraph examination. That case is distinguishable for two reasons, however. First, the majority believed that the statement was deliberately made by an experienced government agent. Id. Regardless of Brown's motive, there is no suggestion of government misconduct in the case before us. Second, though it was not explicitly mentioned by the Murray Court, a statement suggesting that a criminal defendant either took and failed a polygraph examination or refused to take an examination directly relates to guilt and implicates a defendant's fifth amendment right not to incriminate himself. Here, the statement did not go to whether one of the defendants had taken or refused to take a polygraph test. Rather, it relates only to the credibility of a witness. 24 The mere fact that Brown was a convicted felon does not lead us to presume that he both knew his reference to his polygraph test to be inadmissible and made the statement with bad motive. Further, even were we to accept the proposition that Brown intended to prejudice the jury, a mistrial would not necessarily be required. Where the witness is not a government official, the question is not whether the witness intended to prejudice the jury or bolster his credibility but whether the reference was harmless. 25 On the facts before us, Brown's passing reference to having taken a polygraph examination appears to have been harmless. Although references to polygraph testing must be treated with great care by a trial court, we have not mandated that all references to polygraph testing require a mistrial. See United States v. Betancourt, 838 F.2d 168, 175 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1013, 108 S.Ct. 1748, 100 L.Ed.2d 210 (1988) (admission of information concerning a government witness' polygraph exam at the request of four defendants did not prejudice trial of fifth defendant who objected to the admission of this evidence). Even the circuits which have held that polygraph evidence is generally inadmissible have allowed an inadvertent statement concerning the evidence to be remedied by a curative instruction. See United States v. Tedder, 801 F.2d 1437, 1444-45 (4th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 938, 107 S.Ct. 1585, 94 L.Ed.2d 775 (1987); United States v. Holman, 680 F.2d 1340, 1352 (11th Cir.1982); United States v. Martino, 648 F.2d 367, 390 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 943, 102 S.Ct. 2006, 72 L.Ed.2d 465 (1982); see also United States v. Dietrich, 854 F.2d 1056, 1058-60 (7th Cir.1988). The standard for when such a curative instruction is effective has been stated in various ways: whether the statement is so prejudicial as to be incurable, Holman, 680 F.2d at 1352; whether the statement measurably [affected] the jury's verdicts, Martino, 648 F.2d at 390; or, a two factor test  '(1) whether an inference about the result of the test may be critical in assessing the witness's credibility, and (2) whether the witness's credibility is vital to the case,'  Tedder, 801 F.2d at 1444 (quoting United States v. Brevard, 739 F.2d 180, 182 (4th Cir.1984)). 26 The defendants assert that Murray stands for the proposition that any admission of polygraph evidence must be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in order to avoid a mistrial. We do not believe that Murray is so broad. Murray applies this standard, the standard for errors of constitutional magnitude, in a case where the polygraph reference is to a defendant failing or refusing to take a polygraph, a violation that implicates rights of a constitutional magnitude. Where such a polygraph reference is not to a defendant, we believe an instruction or an offer to make such an instruction to disregard the reference is sufficient if it meets the nonconstitutional error test adopted by the Fourth Circuit. Compare Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967) (constitutional errors must be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt) with Opper v. United States, 348 U.S. 84, 95, 75 S.Ct. 158, 165, 99 L.Ed. 101 (1954) (Our theory of trial relies upon the ability of a jury to follow instructions). 27 As did the Fourth Circuit in Tedder, we conclude that the curative instruction in this case was sufficient to cure any harm that may have occurred as a result of the passing reference to a polygraph examination. As to the first element of the test, 28 the jury heard no evidence as to the results of the test, and while it may have assumed that the test buttressed [Brown's] credibility, it also observed him during lengthy direct examination and cross-examination. Thus, even if some jurors drew an inference about the results of the test, there is no special reason in this case to believe that the inference was any more critical in assessing the witness's credibility than it was in cases in which a curative instruction was found to be sufficient. 29 Tedder, 801 F.2d at 1445. 30 As to the second element, there was an abundance of other evidence against White and Walton. There was also sufficient evidence against Mitchell. Although the defendants argue that the jury could have inferred that other witnesses took and passed polygraphs, we decline to impute to the jury so tenuous a chain of inferences. Id.