''United States v. Scheffer'', 523 U.S. 303 (1998), was the first case in which the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
issued a ruling with regard to the highly controversial matter of
polygraph, or "lie-detector," testing. At issue was whether the per se exclusion of polygraph evidence offered by the accused in a military court violates the
Sixth Amendment right to present a defense.
Opinion of the Court
The Court ruled that Military Rule of Evidence 707, which makes
polygraph evidence inadmissible in
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
proceedings, does not unconstitutionally abridge the right of accused members of the military to present a defense.
Significance
The ''United States v. Scheffer'' ruling came, as legal writer
Joan Biskupic
Joan Biskupic ( hr, Biskupić; born ) is an American journalist, author, and lawyer who has covered the United States Supreme Court since 1989.
Early life and education
Biskupic is one of nine siblings born to a Catholic family of Croatian and ...
noted in the
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
, "at a time when polygraph machines are increasingly being used outside the courtroom" — and inside as well. Prosecutors were using polygraph results "to extract confessions from suspects," Biskupic observed, and defense lawyers were using "them for leverage in plea bargains"; likewise polygraph tests were being subjected to greater and greater use in the workplace. Employers were using them to test job applicants with regard to past wrongdoing, and to monitor present jobholders as well (although this practice was mostly outlawed in 1988 by the
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) is a United States federal law that generally prevents employers from using polygraph (lie detector) tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with certain ex ...
). While the latter practice might raise
Fourth Amendment questions of its own, the use of
polygraph results in the courtroom had become a battleground for opposing factions of evidentiary experts.
See also
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List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 523
This is a list of all United States Supreme Court cases from volume 523 of the ''United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record ( law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ord ...
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List of United States Supreme Court cases
*
Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
References
External links
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United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
1998 in United States case law
United States polygraphy law
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