United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303, 22 (1998)

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324

UNITED STATES v. SCHEFFER

Stevens, J., dissenting

graph Institute, which is "generally considered to be the best training facility for polygraph examiners in the United States." 6 The military has administered hundreds of thousands of such tests and routinely uses their results for a wide variety of official decisions.7

edge that meet the requirements of a master's degree-level of study. Candidates selected for the Department of Defense polygraph positions must meet the following minimum requirements:

"1. Be a United States citizen.

"2. Be at least 25 years of age.

"3. Be a graduate of an accredited four-year college or have equivalent experience that demonstrates the ability to master graduate-level academic courses.

"4. Have two years of experience as an investigator with a Federal or other law enforcement agency. . . .

"5. Be of high moral character and sound emotional temperament, as confirmed by a background investigation.

"6. Complete a Department of Defense-approved course of polygraph instruction.

"7. Be adjudged suitable for the position after being administered a polygraph examination designed to ensure that the candidate realizes, and is sensitive to, the personal impact of such examinations.

"All federal polygraph examiners receive their basic polygraph training at the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute. After completing the basic polygraph training, DoD personnel must serve an internship consisting of a minimum of six months on-the-job-training and conduct at least 25 polygraph examinations under the supervision of a certified polygraph examiner before being certified as a Department of Defense polygraph examiner. In addition, DoD polygraph examiners are required to complete 80 hours of continuing education every two years." Department of Defense Polygraph Program, Annual Polygraph Report to Congress, Fiscal Year 1996, pp. 14-15; see also Yankee, The Current Status of Research in Forensic Psychophysiology and Its Application in the Psychophysiological Detection of Deception, 40 J. Forensic Sciences 63 (1995).

6 Honts & Perry, Polygraph Admissibility: Changes and Challenges, 16 Law and Human Behavior 357, 359, n. 1 (1992) (hereinafter Honts & Perry).

7 Between 1981 and 1997, the Department of Defense conducted over 400,000 polygraph examinations to resolve issues arising in counterintelligence, security, and criminal investigations. Department of Defense Polygraph Program, Annual Polygraph Report to Congress, Fiscal Year

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