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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

653

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

Will courts uphold aper se rule against polygraph admissibility in all contexts despite the constraints imposed by a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment right to present a defense? For the first time, the Supreme Court of the United States has addressed whether a per se ban on polygraph evidence violates a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to present a defense. It appears that invoking the Sixth Amendment right to present a defense produces the strongest argument in favor of polygraph admittance. Therefore, since United States v. Scheffer involves a court-martial and arises under the Military Rules of Evidence, the Supreme Court's decision could have a substantial impact on ordinary criminal prosecutions in state and federal courts. In deciding Scheffer, the Supreme Court subjected itself to the extremely controversial issue of determining the admissibility of lie detector tests? This Comment will focus on a brief legal background surrounding the judicial hostility towards the admissibility of lie detector tests in criminal trials and the judicial treatment of this issue. This Comment will then address the narrower issue of a criminal defendant's right to present a defense under the Sixth Amendment by discussing the pertinent case law and illustrating how a prohibition regarding the admissibility of polygraph evidence affects this right. Finally, this Comment will analyze the Supreme Court's approach in resolving the Sixth Amendment issue in Scheffer, its effect on the status of polygraph evidence in criminal trials, and whether this approach is sound given the discussion of the relevant case law.

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