Liar, Liar: Supreme Court of Missouri Deems Polygraph Evidence Admissible to Prove Defendant Was Lying…Indirectly

Under Missouri law, it is well established that “[t]he results of a polygraph examination generally are inadmissible in Missouri criminal trials. Even the fact that a defendant took, refused to take, or was willing to take a polygraph is inadmissible.” State ex rel. Kemper v. Vincent, 191 S.W.3d 45, 49 (Mo. banc 2006). And yet, the prosecution was allowed to make reference to the defendant taking a polygraph exam in State v. Collings, 2014 WL 4086313 (Mo. 2014). Why?

In Collings, Christopher L. Collings was tried and found guilty by a jury of first degree murder. Prior to trial, at a suppression hearing, Collings claimed that his confession should be deemed inadmissible because it was coerced and involuntary.

At the suppression hearing, the State presented evidence that Collings voluntarily took a series of tests and conceded the results of those tests would not be admissible at trial. However, the State reasoned that the circuit court should consider these tests because Collings executed consent forms or waived his rights when participating in these tests. The State argued the consent forms and waivers were relevant to demonstrate Collings’ contact with law enforcement and his awareness of his rights as a part of the totality of the circumstances. 

One of these tests was a polygraph test, and, on appeal, Collings appealed the decision to allow the State to reference it during the suppression hearing.

The Supreme Court of Missouri, however, found that

The State did not seek to admit the test results to demonstrate the truth of the matter asserted or to impeach Collings’ credibility. Rather, the State sought to demonstrate Collings’ understanding of the various waivers and consent forms he executed when agreeing to the tests to meet its burden of showing Collings’ confession on November 9th was voluntary. Further, this evidence was presented during a suppression hearing, not during a criminal trial before a jury. This Court presumes the circuit court is able to disregard typically inadmissible evidence when offered for a different, admissible purpose.

Later, the court concluded as follows:

The State concedes in its brief that this testimony “seems to have little relevance to the suppression issue.” However, it is clear Collings sought to suppress every statement made during every encounter with all law enforcement officials throughout the duration of the investigation. At the suppression hearing, the State asserted that it felt it had to address the voluntariness of this statement because it could be relevant in rebuttal in the event Collings chose to testify during the penalty phase of the trial. The circuit court only made passing reference to this incident in its judgment, and it is apparent it did not impact the circuit court’s ruling. Accordingly, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion or make inconsistent rulings.

Hmm…So, Missouri has a strong policy against the admission of polygraph evidence, and the State concedes that its polygraph evidence seemed to have little relevance to the suppression issue. I’m not sure that this was the correct outcome.

-CM