Polygraph Examinations for Attorney Pre-Trial
The power of polygraph for a defense attorney’s has little or nothing to do with its admissibility. Rather, the power is found daily in negotiations and case building outside of the courtroom.
So much of the discussion surrounding polygraph and the law revolves around admissibility. The quick answer to the admissibility question is that polygraph results are sometimes admitted as evidence in court and many times are not.
But all that discussion really misses the point. Why worry about the courtroom when the vast majority of criminal cases never see the courtroom?
Wise attorneys have learned to utilize polygraph to aid in their case prior to trial, many times making a trial no longer necessary. Polygraph can and has been used successfully to:
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Convince the prosecutors the charges against your client are unfounded
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Determine if your client would fair well if offered a police polygraph
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Obtain a more favorable plea-bargain and sentence
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Determine if your client is one of the truly innocent victims of false charges
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Diminish the credibility of the prosecutors witnesses
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Raise doubts about the alleged victims truthfulness