Judge Orders Polygraphs From Teen Rape Victims

[The Straight Story]

Judge Orders Polygraphs From Teen Rape Victims


CLEVELAND—An Ohio judge has upset four teenage sex-assault victims by ordering the girls to take polygraph tests after she convicted the boys accused in the cases.

The girls and their parents say the order by Cuyahoga Juvenile Court Judge Alison Floyd questions the victims’ honesty.

None of girls has complied.

The Plain Dealer newspaper says the judge’s intent is unclear and she hasn’t responded to requests for comment. A message for comment was left Friday at her office by The Associated Press.

The judge also ordered the teenage boys accused of rape and other sex crimes in the cases to undergo polygraph tests as part of an assessment before sentencing. Floyd found them delinquent, the juvenile court equivalent of guilty.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/state_regional/article/judge_orders_polygraphs_from_teen_rape_victims/33692/

Also - more extensive info here:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/juvenile_court_judge_alison_fl.html

[Ozymanithrax]

1. Forcing the victims to get a polygraph is like raping them all over again.

Why didn't the judge just order a live reenactment of the crime?

[Cronus Protagonist]

9. lol

You forgot the sarcasm sticker. Or, do we have one for gross exaggeration?

[Ozymanithrax]

16. I keep hoping that people will recognize sarcasm when they see it.

That is probably a vain hope.

[ceile]

2. I don't understand

The boys have already been found guily. What could this possibly accomplish except to further traumatize the victims?

[The Straight Story]

11. More info on it here:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/juvenile_court_judge_alison_fl.html

[NNN0LHI]

3. Polygraph tests are worthless

I sure hope someone steps in here and tells this judge he is nuts.

Don

[NeedleCast]

6. The judge is a She

[Fumesucker]

4. After the conviction?

That's insane..

[Ignis]

22. Just to be sure!

:crazy:

Dark days, my friend.

[LiberalFighter]

5. Does the judge have the right to make such an order?

I thought polygraphs were not admissible in court.

Is the judge incompetent?

[Fresh_Start]

7. interesting precedent

why not have everyone involved in a trial including the judge, attorneys, witnesses and defendent all need to pass polygraphs.
Why do I think the judge would believe they are above the need to prove their veracity?

[Dr.Phool]

21. That would be like giving Congress drug and alcohol tests.

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. error

There was an error during the posting of this item.

[DefenseLawyer]

10. Polygraphs are phony science.

They don't work and they aren't based on science. No polygraph "test" has been proven in peer-reviewed scientific studies to work better than chance under field conditions. What this really shows is what a joke the juvenile justice system is in this country. Not only do Defendants have almost no rights, but judges think they can essentially do what they want, and they often do.

[NNN0LHI]

15. CIA spy Aldrich H. Ames passed plenty of them all the while working for the USSR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldrich_Ames

Aldrich Hazen Ames (born May 26, 1941) is a former Central Intelligence Agency counter-intelligence officer and analyst, who, in 1994, was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia.

In 1986 and again in 1991, Ames passed two polygraph screening examinations while spying for the Soviet Union and Russia, respectively. Ames was initially "terrified" at the prospect of taking the test, but had received advice from the KGB on how to pass it. Critics claim that the CIA's over-reliance on the device is harmful to national security.

[PA Democrat]

12. The judge has no legal standing to order the accused let alone the victim of a crime

to take a polygraph. Results are inadmissible in court except in rare circumstances where both sides agree in advance to allow the results to be admitted. Even then, you'd have to be a fool to agree to that because the results are notoriously unreliable.

[DefenseLawyer]

14. Juvenile Court is not "court"

The rules of evidence to not apply in juvenile adjudications in most, if not all jurisdictions. There is no right to a jury trial, and very limited rights in general. Hearsay, unfounded opinion testimony from social workers and things like polygraphs are used in juvenile courts all the time. The way they get by with it is that a person is not "convicted" in juvenile court, although the juvenile detention center that most who are adjudicated are sent to feels very much like a prison.

[PA Democrat]

19. Thanks, just noticed that this was juvenile court..

I didn't realize they allowed polygraphs in juvenile court. That is outrageous.

[joycean]

13. Does the judge have a guilty conscience?

Or something? Because a polygraph isn't going to assuage it. They are as useless as a three dollar bill. Especially for rape victims, who tend to set off the 'lying' sensors because they are emotionally distraught. Because they are talking about when they were raped.

[LeftHander]

17. She answered the polygraph questions through broken teeth and swollen eyes...nt

[Robb]

18. The judge has an interesting history on the bench

...I wonder what she's up to.

[tonysam]

20. Many of the comments following the article cheering on the judge's decision

are disturbing, to say the least.