1. Civil Trial Counsel of Wisconsin
Polygraph
Civil Trial Counsel of Wisconsin
September 2004 Conference
Wisconsin Dells

2. North East Wisconsin Polygraph Services Tony O'Neill N. E. W
North East Wisconsin Polygraph Services Tony O'Neill N.E.W. Polygraph Services 346 S. Emery Ave Peshtigo, Wisconsin (715)
Member: A.P.A. & W.P.A

3. Polygraph Testing

4. Common Statements About Polygraph Testing.
Polygraph tests are inadmissible in court.
Polygraph tests are no more accurate than flipping a coin.
It takes great skill to administer a polygraph test.
Polygraph tests are 99.9% accurate.
It is easy to beat polygraph tests, almost anyone can do it.
The majority of (informed) psychologist don’t think the polygraph is accurate.
All of these statements are FALSE.

5. Current Applications of PDD Examinations
Investigative Tool
Forensic Psychological Test
National Security Screening
Employment Screening
Treatment/Monitoring

7. PDD Techniques There are two primary techniques for PDD.
Concealed Knowledge tests assess the individual's credibility by determining if that individual has knowledge that only a guilty suspect should recognize as being relevant to the investigation.
Detection of Deception Tests assess the individual's credibility by asking direct accusatory questions.
For example:
"Did you set the fire at Diversified Products last November?"

8. PDD Techniques
Concealed Knowledge tests are difficult to apply because the required information is not available in most cases.
Detection of Deception Tests are by far the most common test in forensic application.

9. The Comparison Question Test
Types of Questions:
Neutral: Do people call you Joe?
Relevant: Did you start the fire that destroyed the Diversified Products building?
Comparison: Before 1990, did you ever do anything that was dishonest, illegal, or immoral?
The rationale of this technique predicts differential responding to Relevant and Control questions by innocent and guilty suspects.

10. Parts of a Polygraph Examination
Pre-Test Preparation
Review Materials
Formulate Questions
Check Instrument
Beginning the Exam
Introduction/Rapport
Informed Consent
Bio/Health Info
Free Narrative
Psychological Prep of Subject
Explanation of Examination
Attachment of Sensors
Acquaintance Test
Review of Test questions
Data Collection
Questions Repeated at Least 3 Times
Data Evaluation
Numerical Evaluation
Computerized/statistical analysis
Additional Data Collection
Discussion of the Result / Interrogation (optional)

11. Pyschophysiological Detection of Deception (PDD)

19. PDD Research
Research on PDD has been conduced in both Laboratory and Field Settings.
Laboratory Research is valuable because it allows for precise control of experimental variables. It is also possible to study some questions in the laboratory that may be difficult or impossible to study in the field.
Field Research is important because it allows for research under real world conditions.

20. A Laboratory Study

23. Factors Identified by Kircher, Horowitz and Raskin (1988) as Increasing the Realism of Laboratory Studies of PDD
Use of explicit incentives associated with the examination outcome.
Use of representative subject populations (not just college students.)
Use of representative testing techniques.
Use of representative scoring techniques.

24. Outcomes for the Five Laboratory Studies
Rated as Most Realistic
Kircher, Horowitz, & Raskin (1988)

25. Criteria For a Useful Field Study of PDD
Subjects should be sampled from the target population for generalization.
Subjects should be selected by some random process.
The physiological data should be evaluated independently by persons trained and experienced in the evaluation of PDD data. However, results of the original examiner may be of more use in assessing the validity of the technique for legal proceedings.
The credibility of the suspect should be determined by information independent of the polygraph examination.

26. Outcomes for High Quality Field Studies
Independent Evaluations

27. Decisions for Original Examiners in Field Cases

28. Polygraphs in the Courts
Under some circumstances polygraph tests are admissible in the majority of the states. They have been generally admissible in the State of New Mexico since 1975.
At present, it appears that U.S. Federal judges have the discretion to admit or not.

29. Federal Rule 702
If the scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles or methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.
The italicized text took effect on 1 December 2000.

30. Factors To Be Considered In Assessing the Admissibility of Scientific Evidence in Federal Courts According to the Daubert Decision
Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)
Whether the Proposition is Testable
Whether the Proposition Has Been Tested
Whether the Technique Has A Known Error Rate
Whether the Theory or Technique Has Been Subjected to Peer Review and Publication
Whether the Theory is Generally Accepted

31. General Acceptance
If the research is published in high quality peer-reviewed scientific journals, doesn’t that indicate acceptance of the methods?
Many courts of law have demanded more.
One approach has been to conduct surveys, but the surveys have produced conflicting results.

32. Response Alternatives
Responses from members of the Society for Psychophysiological Research when they were asked to give their opinion of polygraph test interpretation by those who have received systematic training in the technique, when they are called upon to interpret whether a subject is or is not telling the truth.
Response Alternatives
A. It is a sufficiently reliable method to be used as the sole determinant.
B. It is a useful diagnostic tool when considered with the other available evidence.
C. It is of questionable usefulness, entitled to little weight against other information.
D. It is of no usefulness.

33. The Iacono & Lykken Survey
Set the context of the survey as determining admissibility.
The central example was O.J. Simpson passes an polygraph test…..
They claim a 91% return rate.
To date, they have refused to allow anyone to see the data.

34. The BSU Survey
In November and December of 2000 we surveyed a sample of the at large members of the American Psychology Law Society.
They were contacted by telephone and were asked a number of questions about the polygraph.

35. APLS members reported the following:
It is possible to conduct valid field studies (90.6%).
Publication in a peer-reviewed journal represents generally accepted scientific methodology (95.7%).
Laboratory studies of the polygraph should be given at least some weight by policy makers and the courts (88.7%). Almost half (49.1%) felt that laboratory studies should be given moderate to considerable weight.
If polygraph tests results were admissible in courts of law, 72% said the accuracy of verdicts would either be unaffected or they would improve.

36. Expert opinions of parental fitness
As compared to other forensic techniques frequently admitted as evidence, the APLS members rated polygraphs as useful as or more useful than:
Expert opinions of parental fitness
Psychological assessments of malingering
Eyewitness recognition
Psychological assessment of dangerousness
Psychological assessments of temporary insanity.
But less useful than:
Fingerprints
DNA

37. Pretest Review of Polygraph Questions
Movie File Embedded

38. Meet The Parents
(Movie)

39. Meet My Children

40. Meet My Polygraph

41. 6
six

42. Using the Polygraph Evidence - low likelihood of success Bargaining
positive impact of the hearing
Bargaining
Sentencing

43. Finding a Qualified Examiner
Questions To Ask:
Experience and Background
Education and Scientific Knowledge
Willing to tape record?
Open to independent review?

44. Examiner ??? Questions continued: Validated CQT technique?
Follow the ASTM/APA standards?
Numerical Scoring?
Computerized Instrument?

45. Characteristics of an Adequate Polygraph Examination
Are tape recorded in their entirety.
The questions are repeated at least three times.
The data are numerically scored with one of the valid numerical scoring systems (Utah or Department of Defense Polygraph Institute).
Independent evaluation of the original examiner’s scoring is obtained.

46. North East Wisconsin Polygraph Services Tony O'Neill N. E. W
North East Wisconsin Polygraph Services Tony O'Neill N.E.W. Polygraph Services 346 S. Emery Ave Peshtigo, Wisconsin (715)
Member: A.P.A. & W.P.A

47. Special Thank You To http://truth.boisestate.edu
Charles R. Honts, Ph. D.
Professor of Psychology
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho, USA