Opinion ID: 388130
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Constraints Imposed by the Due Process Clause

Text: 16 Every state is generally free to exercise its sovereign prerogative as to the evidence it will admit in its courts. The federal constitution, however, imposes a limited restraint upon state evidentiary rules where exculpatory evidence is excluded by arbitrary state rules. Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967). The genesis of this restriction is found in the defendant's sixth amendment right to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. 3 The Constitution imposes this limitation because the state may not deny an accused in a criminal trial the right to a fair opportunity to defend against the state's accusations. Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 294, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 1045, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973). However, the right of a defendant to present relevant and competent evidence is not absolute and many 'bow to accommodate other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process,'  Hughes v. Mathews, 576 F.2d 1250, 1258 (7th Cir.), cert. dismissed, 439 U.S. 801, 99 S.Ct. 43, 58 L.Ed.2d 94 (1978) (citing Chambers, 410 U.S. at 295, 93 S.Ct. at 1045), although the competing state interests must be substantial to overcome the claims of the defendant. 4 Our task is thus to evaluate the exculpatory significance of the proffered polygraph evidence 5 and then to balance it against the competing state interest in the procedural rules that prevented the defendant from presenting this evidence at his trial. Government of the Virgin Islands v. Smith, 615 F.2d 964, 972 n.10 (3d Cir. 1980). Petitioner challenges both the stipulation requirement in general and the refusal of the prosecutor to enter into the stipulation offered in this case. We shall review separately the state justifications both for the existence of the stipulation requirement and for the prosecutor's refusal to enter into the stipulation proffered here. 6 17
18 It seems obvious that evidence of a favorable polygraph examination taken by the defendant would have been of great importance to the defense of the Wisconsin charge. The entire prosecution case rested on the testimony of the victim as to the identity of his assailant. Given the problems inherent in such an identification, see O'Connor, That's the Man: A Sobering Study of Eyewitness Identification and the Polygraph, 49 St. John's L.Rev. 1, 26-27 (1974), particularly an identification based upon a short observation in the dark while being knocked to the ground, the state's case was far from overwhelming. The defendant took the stand and denied any involvement in the crime. His credibility was the primary issue before the jury, and the jury's verdict reflects its decision not to credit his testimony. Under these circumstances, a polygraph examination that bolstered the defendant's credibility might easily have been decisive in securing an acquittal. Although we do not wish to become embroiled in a numbers game, we note that even the most ardent detractors from the validity of polygraph evidence concede a degree of reliability of 70% or higher for properly administered examinations. 7 Further, a large portion of this 30% error rate includes tests that yield inconclusive results results that cannot fairly be described as erroneous. 8 Where credibility is as critical as in the instant case, the circumstances are such as to make the polygraph evidence materially exculpatory within the meaning of the Constitution. See Westen, Compulsory Process II, 74 U.Mich.L.Rev. 191, 197 (1975). 19