Court Opinion

ID: 9531130
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:07:51.224998+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:21.149902
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE MILLER, dissenting: I do not agree with the majority’s conclusion that the defendant is entitled to a new trial. Although the introduction of testimony concerning polygraph testing is generally considered error, I do not believe that the erroneous presentation of such evidence in the case at bar warrants reversal of the defendant’s convictions. At trial, the defendant did not object to the State’s introduction of polygraph evidence or raise the issue in his post-trial motion. Indeed, the defendant introduced similar testimony in his own behalf through cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses and as part of the defense case in chief. Not until the case was before the appellate court did the defendant challenge the introduction of the polygraph testimony. Because the issue has not been properly preserved for appeal, reversal is warranted here only if the admission of this evidence constituted plain error. See 134 Ill. 2d R. 615(a). Recently, in People v. Melock (1992), 149 Ill. 2d 423, this court determined that a defendant could not be precluded from presenting, at trial, evidence regarding polygraph testing if the testimony was relevant to the defendant’s contention that his confession was not credible or reliable. Melock recognized our longstanding disapproval of the introduction of polygraph evidence, yet the court believed that the exclusion of evidence of the circumstances of the defendant’s confession, including testimony concerning his taking of a polygraph exam, had denied the defendant his right to present a defense. As Melock demonstrates, not every mention of polygraph testing necessarily results in a new trial, for there are some circumstances in which a defendant is entitled to present such testimony. If the evidence must be admissible in certain cases, as Melock held, the justification for a rule of automatic reversal in all other instances becomes less persuasive. To this extent, then, I believe that Melock has undermined the rationale for the automatic reversal rule expressed in People v. Baynes (1981), 88 Ill. 2d 225, on which the majority primarily relies. The evidence of the defendant’s guilt in the case at bar was overwhelming. The defendant provided authorities with a detailed confession of his role in the charged offenses. His codefendant, Diana King, testified against him at trial, implicating him fully in the arson. In addition, much of the testimony now complained of was elicited by defense counsel, whose own examination of the witnesses was apparently intended to exploit certain inconsistencies in the details of the investigation. For these reasons, I do not believe that the presentation of the polygraph evidence in the present case rises to the level of the plain error. The majority’s conclusion to the contrary perpetuates an unnecessary and unwise rule of law, and I respectfully dissent.