Opinion ID: 853122
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Witness's Polygraph

Text: During the investigation, police interviewed Majors' former roommate, Andrew Harris. During Harris' cross-examination, defense counsel elicited the fact that Harris had secured an immunity agreement. With the court's permission, the State then rehabilitated Harris on re-direct with testimony that the immunity agreement was a prerequisite to Harris' agreement to submit to a polygraph exam that ultimately indicated that he spoke truthfully in denying that he aided or assisted in any unnatural deaths at the Hospital. Majors' attorney objected to the testimony. [7] Admission of polygraph evidence, including the mere fact of a polygraph examination, generally requires a stipulation by both parties. See Albrecht v. State, 737 N.E.2d 719, 725 (Ind.2000), reh'g denied; Swan v. State, 462 N.E.2d 68, 71 (Ind.1984) (mention that witness has taken polygraph examination not permitted absent some form of waiver). We discourage the admission of polygraph evidence because of the procedure's unreliability combined with its likelihood of unduly influencing a jury's decision. Smith v. State, 547 N.E.2d 817, 820 (Ind.1989); see also Ben-Yisrayl v. State, 753 N.E.2d 649, 653 (Ind.2001), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 122 S.Ct. 2382, 153 L.Ed.2d 201 (2002). In some narrow circumstances, however, a party may open the door to admission of polygraph evidence. See, e.g., Willoughby v. State, 552 N.E.2d 462, 469 (Ind.1990) (defendant who misleads jury as to his truthfulness by referring to polygraph examination opens door to admission of results); see also United States v. Lynn, 856 F.2d 430, 433 (1st Cir.1988) (polygraph results admissible for reasons other than proving truth of assertions made during examination). Here, after the defense elicited Harris' testimony about his immunity agreement, the State sought to rebut the logical inference that Harris was somehow implicated in the crimes. The State could only do this by demonstrating that the immunity was a prerequisite to a polygraph exam and that the exam result was consistent with Harris's denial of personal involvement in the crimes. [8] Under somewhat different circumstances, the First Circuit concluded in Lynn that evidence that a key prosecution witness submitted to a polygraph as a condition of his plea agreement was admissible, as was the fact that some of his answers were inconclusive. Id. at 432-33. We need not embrace this holding to conclude that once the defense had taken out after the witness for testifying under a grant of immunity, the trial court had the discretion to permit the jury to understand the circumstances of that immunity. Moreover, even if this case did not fall within an exception to the general rule, the admission of polygraph evidence is subject to harmless error analysis. See Austin v. State, 262 Ind. 529, 533, 319 N.E.2d 130, 133 (1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680 (1975); United States v. Whitt, 718 F.2d 1494, 1502 (10th Cir.1983). The probable impact of the polygraph reference upon the verdict is of prime importance. Reese v. State, 452 N.E.2d 936, 940 (Ind.1983). Here, the probable impact of the polygraph reference was minimal. Harris testified that Majors often commented that the elderly should be gassed, (R. at 6108), but another witness provided more damaging testimony that Majors admitted that he killed patients at the hospital using potassium chloride, (R. at 8732). Harris also testified that he saw a vial of potassium chloride in the garage he shared with Majors and one in Majors' car, (R. at 6100-01), but other witnesses confirmed that the police found such bottles during a search of Majors' residence and of a van he drove, (R. at 4585-87, 4600-02, 4694-710, 4741-48, 5740-56, 6094). The most damning evidence against Majors came from medical staff, experts, and victims' family members, who together established that six victims died unnatural deaths due to potassium chloride poisoning and that Majors was the only common denominator. Viewing the evidence as a whole, the polygraph evidence likely had little effect on the jury and any error in its admission was harmless.