Tenth Circuit Upholds Exclusion of Polygraph Evidence

The Tenth Circuit has upheld the trial court's exclusion of evidence that a prosecution witness failed a polygraph. The witness was a DEA informant who dropped a dime on the defendants for operating an LSD lab in Aspen. During the informant's involvement in the case, he took two polygraph exams, passing one but with deception indicated on the other. The district court concluded that even if the polygraph evidence somehow managed to pass Daubert muster, it would still be subject to exclusion under Fed. R. Evid. 403. "This ruling," says the Tenth Circuit panel, "is entirely consistent with our precedent." See United States v. Apperson, No. 03-3368 (Mar. 28, 2006) (Briscoe, Anderson, & Murphy, JJ.).