Opinion ID: 794140
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Objectives of Sentencing

Text: The district courts may: 21 impose special conditions of supervised release to the extent that they are `reasonably related' to (i) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant, and (ii) the purposes of sentencing, including the need to afford adequate deterrence, to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant, and to provide the defendant with needed training or treatment. 22 United States v. Germosen, 139 F.3d 120, 131 (2d Cir.1998) (citing, inter alia, 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d)). Conditions of supervised release may restrict liberty to the extent reasonably needed to achieve the above purposes. Id.; see also United States v. Lifshitz, 369 F.3d 173, 189 (2d Cir.2004). Citing the asserted unreliability of the polygraph, Johnson argues that the condition is not reasonably related to the pertinent sentencing factors and imposes a greater deprivation on his liberty than is reasonably necessary. 23 Other circuits have concluded that polygraph testing may serve salutary purposes in the supervised release context. See, e.g., United States v. York, 357 F.3d 14, 22 (1st Cir.2004); United States v. Dotson, 324 F.3d 256, 261 (4th Cir.2003); United States v. Lee, 315 F.3d 206, 213 (3d Cir.2003); United States v. Zinn, 321 F.3d 1084, 1089-90 (11th Cir.2003). As Lee explained, a polygraph may provide an added incentive for [the offender] to furnish truthful testimony to the probation officer. Such purpose would assist the officer in his or her supervision and monitoring of the appellant. Lee, 315 F.3d at 213. Obviously, the incremental tendency of polygraph testing to promote such candor furthers the objectives of sentencing by allowing for more careful scrutiny of offenders on supervised release. Polygraphs have also been found to assist another sentencing objective: ensur[ing] compliance with probationary terms. Zinn, 321 F.3d at 1090. The lie detector may deter lying notwithstanding its arguable or occasional unreliability because of the subject's fear that it might work, or be credited by others whether it works or not. Notwithstanding the preceding case law, Johnson contends that an assertedly unreliable technology cannot advance honest discussion or compliance with conditions of supervised release. 24 Johnson cites, inter alia, United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303, 309-10, 118 S.Ct. 1261, 140 L.Ed.2d 413 (1998), for the proposition that polygraph evidence is unreliable. The Scheffer Court noted that studies have positioned polygraph reliability between greater-than-50% and 87%. Id. at 310, 118 S.Ct. 1261. Since even the bottom of the range is still more-likely-than-not, the technology produces an incentive to tell the truth, and thereby advances the sentencing goals. 25 As Johnson points out, polygraph results are inadmissible as evidence. But that does not much bear on the therapeutic value of the tool: 26 [T]he polygraph test ... is inadmissible in nearly every circumstance at trial. Obviously, however, evidentiary cases do not govern our evaluation of the use of polygraphs in connection with the treatment of an offender. The use of a polygraph test here is not aimed at gathering evidence to inculpate or exculpate [the offender]. Rather, the test is contemplated as a potential treatment tool upon [an offender's] release from prison .... 27 Dotson, 324 F.3d at 261 (emphasis added) (internal citation omitted). Moreover, the exclusion of polygraph evidence in many cases has been based in part on a risk of prejudicial effect. See, e.g., United States v. Kwong, 69 F.3d 663, 668 (2d Cir.1995); see also United States v. Williams, 95 F.3d 723, 729-30 (8th Cir.1996). Prejudice is not as salient a risk in the absence of a jury; generally speaking, sentencing judges are better equipped to decide what weight if any to afford polygraph results. 28 The case for use of polygraph testing is strong here in light of the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant. Germosen, 139 F.3d at 131. The district court crafted supervised release conditions for a serial offender who apparently resisted honest self-assessment. Johnson's treatment provider labeled Johnson's attitude superficial and not adequately engaged in the recovery process. He has an increasingly antagonistic attitude .... [featuring an] inadequate level of accountability for his offenses. The polygraph can help penetrate deception and encourage an offender to confront his own motivations and behaviors. These outcomes further sentencing objectives such as rehabilitation and deterrence, with reasonably small incremental deprivations of liberty. We therefore conclude that polygraph testing can, and in this case does, further sentencing goals without excessive deprivations of liberty. 29