he said. Last week the Massachusetts Supreme Court banned lie detector tests from use in criminal trials. Massachusetts had been one of the last states that allowed defendants to use polygraph results to support an alibi. Many states allow polygraph evidence if the prosecution and the defense so agree. The Massachusetts court said that experts agreed that there was a concern as to their accuracy, and cited studies that showed accuracy rates varying from 50 to 95 percent. In his ruling, Judge Robert W. Smith wrote that “[i]t is not clear how much weight should be given to these results.” Companies that make the polygraph instruments were hit hard by that law.
Last week the Massachusetts Supreme Court banned lie detector tests from use in criminal trials. Massachusetts had been one of the last states that allowed defendants to use polygraph results to support an alibi. Many states allow polygraph evidence if the prosecution and the defense so agree. The Massachusetts court said that experts agreed that there was a concern as to their accuracy, and cited studies that showed accuracy rates varying from 50 to 95 percent. In his ruling, Judge Robert W. Smith wrote that “[i]t is not clear how much weight should be given to these results.” Companies that make the polygraph instruments were hit hard by that law.