Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
Lie Detection: The Supreme Court's Polygraph Decision, Bennett L. Gershman
Lie Detection: The Supreme Court's Polygraph Decision, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
In United States v. Scheffer, decided this past Term, the Supreme Court considered for the first time the admissibility of polygraph evidence. The Court held that exclusion of such evidence on behalf of a criminal defendant was supported by valid justifications and offended no constitutional right to present a defense.
Mental Culpability And Prosecutorial Misconduct, Bennett L. Gershman
Mental Culpability And Prosecutorial Misconduct, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This Article argues that a prosecutor's intent is always relevant to the courts' analysis of misconduct, and that the courts should always consider a prosecutor's intent in determining whether a rule was violated and whether the verdict was prejudiced. Part II of this Article examines the use of the objective test to analyze a prosecutor's trial conduct. Part II offers several reasons courts give for avoiding inquiry into a prosecutor's mental culpability, analyzes those reasons, and concludes that although the application of an objective test is sufficient to correct misconduct in some instances, it does not foreclose application of a …