Court Opinion

ID: 9707770
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:20:55.063494+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:37.961721
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE HARRISON, dissenting: I respectfully dissent. “A fundamental premise of our criminal trial system is that ‘theywo' is the lie detector.’ ” (Emphasis in original.) United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303, 313, 140 L. Ed. 2d 413, 421, 118 S. Ct. 1261, 1266 (1998), quoting United States v. Barnard, 490 F.2d 907, 912 (9th Cir. 1973). This court has held consistently that the results of a polygraph examination are inadmissible when offered in evidence for the purpose of establishing the guilt or innocence of a defendant. People v. Melock, 149 Ill. 2d 423, 459 (1992). As the majority states, polygraph is not sufficiently reliable to establish guilt or innocence,' and the quasi-scientific nature of the test may lead a trier of fact to give the evidence undue weight, notwithstanding its lack of reliability. In People v. Baynes, 88 Ill. 2d 225, 240 (1981), where the admission of polygraph evidence rose to the level of plain error for impinging upon the integrity of our judicial system, the court reasoned that stipulation to its admission does not render unreliable evidence reliable. The court concluded that polygraph evidence is not reliable enough to be admitted, that the prejudicial effects substantially outweigh the probative value of admitting such testimony, and that no other form of evidence is as likely to be considered as completely determinative of guilt or innocence as is a polygraph examination. Baynes, 88 Ill. 2d at 244. In People v. Taylor, 101 Ill. 2d 377, 391-92 (1984), this court declared that although the results of polygraph examinations are insufficiently reliable to be used to prove guilt or innocence, because their results appear to be quasi-scientific, jurors are likely to give such results undue weight. As the court said in Baynes, 88 Ill. 2d at 244, there is significant risk the jury will regard polygraph evidence as conclusive. Because it is the jury’s function, as finder of fact, to determine the credibility of witnesses, “[a] potential trial by polygraph is an unwarranted intrusion into the jury function.” Baynes, 88 Ill. 2d at 244. In People v. Gard, 158 Ill. 2d 191, 204 (1994), we held evidence of polygraph examination of a witness inadmissible at trial for the same reasons that this court has held evidence of polygraph examination of a defendant inadmissible. In Gard we concluded that evidence of polygraph testing is rendered no more reliable and jurors deem it no less worthy of belief because the person tested was a witness rather than a defendant. As did the court in Baynes, we ruled in Gard, 158 Ill. 2d at 205, that the admission of evidence of polygraph testing of witnesses at the defendant’s trial constituted plain error because it was error compromising the integrity and tarnishing the reputation of the judicial process itself. Whether the polygraph examination is of defendant or witness, we said there, evidence of polygraph testing is equally unreliable and likely to be accorded undue weight so that its prejudicial effect far exceeds its probative value. Gard, 158 Ill. 2d at 204. Likewise, as the majority indicates, evidence of the results of a polygraph examination is inadmissible not only at trial but also at capital sentencing hearings. People v. Pecoraro, 175 Ill. 2d 294, 315 (1997); People v. Sanchez, 169 Ill. 2d 472, 493 (1996). In People v. Szabo, 94 Ill. 2d 327, 362 (1983), this court excluded polygraph evidence from consideration by a sentencing jury in a capital case for the same reasons that polygraph evidence was held inadmissible at trial in Baynes, that is, doubts concerning the reliability of the polygraph and the risk that a jury will find polygraph results conclusive to the extent that the polygraph usurps the function of the jury as trier of fact. In Sanchez, 169 Ill. 2d at 493, we said that although the rules of evidence are relaxed at capital sentencing hearings, we do not believe that polygraph evidence carries with it sufficient reliability to warrant the admission of it even in those circumstances. Moreover, testimony that a defendant was offered a polygraph examination, or that he refused one, interjects into the case inferences that bear directly upon his guilt or innocence: either he failed the test, because presumably the State would not pursue charges against an innocent, or the defendant refused to submit to testing out of fear that his guilt would be shown. People v. Eickhoff, 129 Ill. App. 3d 99, 103 (1984). Questions concerning prior solicitations of a witness for a polygraph examination imply that the witness fears the examination because he is lying. People v. Rutledge, 45 Ill. App. 3d 779, 783 (1977). That which may not be accomplished directly by evidence of the results of a polygraph examination may not be accomplished indirectly by reference to whether a defendant was offered or declined a polygraph examination. Eickhoff, 129 Ill. App. 3d at 103. Agreeing with the State “that the present case must be distinguished from the line of decisions barring the presentation of evidence concerning polygraph examinations,” the majority explains that in this case the polygraph evidence it deems admissible was offered for “a limited purpose.” However, limiting the purpose to which unreliable evidence is put does not invest it with reliability. Polygraph evidence used for the limited purpose of determining why a defendant agreed to make and sign a statement is no more reliable than polygraph evidence offered for the purpose of establishing the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Nor does the use of polygraph evidence for this limited purpose diminish the significant risk that the jury will regard such evidence as conclusive for that purpose. Whether polygraph evidence is used for this limited purpose or to consider the guilt or innocence of the accused, it is equally unreliable and likely to be accorded undue weight, so that its prejudicial effect far exceeds its probative value. In Melock, 149 Ill. 2d at 465, because the exclusion of the polygraph evidence the defendant sought to introduce deprived him of his fundamental right to a fair opportunity to present a defense, this court held that the polygraph evidence should have been admitted at trial for the limited purpose of determining the credibility and reliability of his confession. There the defendant, who had confessed after having taken a polygraph examination, contended that the trial court’s preclusion of evidence concerning the circumstances surrounding his confession had denied him his sixth amendment right to present a defense and his right to a fair trial. He maintained that he should have been permitted to present evidence of the polygraph examiner’s deception concerning the “results” of the examination when, in fact, no responses from defendant’s polygraph could be read and his polygraph examination had yielded no test results. In holding the polygraph evidence admissible for this limited purpose, the court acknowledged that its resolution of the issue was not without regard for the potential prejudicial effect of polygraph evidence but concluded that the importance of permitting the jury to weigh the effects of every motivating circumstance surrounding the obtaining of the defendant’s confession outweighs the importance of avoiding the possible prejudice. Melock, 149 Ill. 2d at 465. Unlike Melock, however, no fundamental right of the defendant weighs in the balance here. In Melock, 149 Ill. 2d at 458, this court expressed its awareness that the term “ ‘polygraph evidence,’ broadly construed, may include every aspect concerning polygraphy, including results.” Although the instant defendant did not take a polygraph examination, so that there was neither an examination nor the results of one, evidence that a defendant had agreed to take a polygraph examination, was scheduled to do so, but confessed before being examined constitutes “polygraph evidence.” The jury is as likely to regard such evidence as conclusive as it is so to regard the results of polygraph examination. Plainly, there is significant risk that, because of a false assurance in the reliability of polygraph examination, the jury will reason that the defendant confessed because of his belief that the scheduled polygraph examination would shortly and inevitably expose his deceptions. Indeed, the State’s closing argument in rebuttal in this case rested, in part, upon the implicit reliability of polygraph examination and encouraged jurors to infer that defendant confessed when she did because of her fear that the polygraph examination would imminently disclose her deceit. For the same reasons that polygraph evidence is inadmissible when used to establish the guilt or innocence of a defendant, polygraph evidence should be inadmissible when used by the State for the limited purpose of determining why a defendant agreed to make and sign a statement. Therefore, the judgment of the appellate court should be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial. JUSTICE NICKELS joins in this dissent.