Opinion ID: 2516369
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Limitation on Defendant's Cross Examination Regarding Nelson Polygraph

Text: ś 68 At trial, defendant sought to question the police decision not to administer a polygraph examination to Nelson, given Nelson's willingness to take the test. Defendant argues that this evidence indicates that the police did not consider Nelson to be a reliable witness. However, the state moved to exclude these questions, and the trial court granted its motion in limine. ś 69 On appeal, defendant claims the trial court erred, but this argument fails because Arizona courts, along with the vast majority of jurisdictions, consider polygraph examinations unreliable. We hold, therefore, that the trial court did not err as to this issue because all references to polygraph tests, absent stipulation, are inadmissible for any purpose in Arizona. State v. Ikirt, 160 Ariz. 113, 115, 770 P.2d 1159, 1161 (1987); State v. Bowen, 104 Ariz. 138, 141, 449 P.2d 603, 606 (1969). We decline the invitation to revisit this settled area of the law.