Opinion ID: 1207145
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Refusal to Permit a Polygraph Test

Text: At the conclusion of the competency hearing, the appellant requested that he be permitted to take a polygraph test to refute the findings of the medical experts to the effect that the appellant was pretending to suffer from amnesia. In State v. Frazier, W.Va., 252 S.E.2d 39 (1979), we discussed at length the scientific value and reliability of the polygraph test and concluded that polygraph test results are not admissible for any purpose at a criminal trial. Since we are of the opinion that it would have been error for the circuit court to consider the results of a polygraph test in making its determination of the appellant's mental competence, we find no error in the court's refusal to permit the appellant to take the test.