NEW JERSEY IMPOSES A RIGHT TO COUNSEL STIPULATION AUTHORIZING THE USE OF A POLYGRAPH TEST AT TRIAL

The court’s in New Jersey have concluded time-and-time again that polygraph tests cannot be admitted into evidence because they are unreliable. One exception to that well-settled rule is where the participant signs a stipulation that allows the result of a polygraph to be admitted into evidence.

In March 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court concluded that unless the participant to a lie detector test had the advice of counsel when signing the stipulation to admit the result into evidence, the results of the test were inadmissable. The court based this ruling on its supervisory powers and returned to the underlying frailties of the test, noting that the results of a polygraph test was “a little better than could be obtained from the toss of a coin.” In its analysis, the court also noted that there were 28 states that bar the use of polygraph tests outright with only 18 that allow its use where both parties stipulate to its admissibility.