![]() Companies are also banned from making potential job candidates sit for polygraph exams. Businesses Are Not Allowed To Force Polygraphsīoth California and federal law prohibit employers from requiring their employees to submit to a lie detector test. It generally is not in your best interest to sit for a polygraph test, even if law enforcement says you are only a witness or “person of interest.” There is no requirement you sit for a lie detector test and answer their questions. Therefore, if police ask you to take a lie detector, you should consult a skilled criminal defense attorney. In either case, the results can be skewed. In the reverse situation, an individual can repeat falsehoods without the test realizing the subject is lying. Sometimes, the test can indicate someone is lying when they are telling the truth. The Police Cannot Require You Take a Lie Detector TestĮven though repeated studies have shown that lie detectors are not scientifically valid, law enforcement officers often request that any suspect or witness take a polygraph as part of their investigations. If your lawyer believes this may show the police or prosecution you are wrongly accused, you can sit for a lie detector without having to worry that the results will be used against you. This does not mean you cannot take a polygraph exam yourself to attempt to prove your innocence. All evidence surrounding polygraph exams can only be introduced upon mutual agreement between the prosecution and defense. Even the fact you declined to take a lie detector exam cannot be told to the jury without your defense attorney’s consent. Testimony regarding whether the police requested a polygraph, if you actually took one, or if you volunteered to submit to one cannot be admitted in court without both sides’ approval. Not only the results of the test are barred from evidence. The only exception to this rule is if both the prosecutor and defense attorney have agreed that a jury may hear the results of a polygraph test. California Prohibits Admission of Polygraph Testsīecause of their suspect reliability, California law does not allow the results of a lie detector test to be admitted as evidence in court. ![]() Additionally, you never are required to submit to a lie detector exam and should never agree to one without first consulting a defense attorney. In California, a polygraph test is not admissible in court except under very limited circumstances. Polygraphs are also known as lie detector tests, and their reliability has been challenged since they were first invented. ![]() For decades, law enforcement has attempted to use polygraph tests in court to persuade juries a suspect was guilty.
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