By Dr. Ray Kessler, who is, incidentally, a retired Prof. of Criminal Justice, former defense attorney and prosecutor is your host. I am also a part-time instructor in Criminal Justice at Richland College, an outstanding, 2-year institution in Dallas, TX.
https://richlandcollege.edu/
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Monday, April 09, 2012
Are voice-stress tests admissible at trial?
Many police agencies are now using voice stress tests. It has been reported that it was used on George Zimmerman. Are these tests admissible at trial? The answer is, probably not.
Nor should they be. Given the debatable accuracy of polygraphs, eyewitness identifications, bitemark and shoeprint analysis, the results of voice-stress tests generally belong outside of the courtroom. Even crime labs at federal, state, and city levels have been found lacking and flawed.
I thought this was an excellent website to get one thinking about the generally unreported problems in forensics:
Like a Polygraph, a voice stress test is only as good as an operator's knowledge and experience. That said, a voice stress test seems more of a helpful guide to point law enforcement toward sources of usable evidence.
Nor should they be. Given the debatable accuracy of polygraphs, eyewitness identifications, bitemark and shoeprint analysis, the results of voice-stress tests generally belong outside of the courtroom. Even crime labs at federal, state, and city levels have been found lacking and flawed.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an excellent website to get one thinking about the generally unreported problems in forensics:
http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/Unreliable-Limited-Science.php
Like a Polygraph, a voice stress test is only as good as an operator's knowledge and experience. That said, a voice stress test seems more of a helpful guide to point law enforcement toward sources of usable evidence.
ReplyDeleteThe skills of a VSA operator are important but the unmeasurable "intangibles," as Jimmy the Greek used to say on television, make it a guide only.
ReplyDeleteAnother apparent travesty is in this opinion piece: http://www.thecrimereport.org/viewpoints/2012-04-arson-and-junk-science
Folks in prison over old disproven science...