ALBUQUERQUE, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A New Mexico judge has recommended the state discontinue using lie detector results in court, saying the tests are too unreliable.
New Mexico is the only state to routinely permit the results of polygraph, or lie detector, tests to be entered into evidence.
The New Mexico Supreme Court, which makes rules that other New Mexico courts must follow, had asked Albuquerque District Judge Richard Knowles to hear evidence on polygraphs in five consolidated cases from around the state.
The Albuquerque Journal said Knowles subsequently decided polygraph testing lacks standards, is not based on an overarching theory and employs techniques not based upon well-recognized scientific principles.
Knowles wrote: "Because of the inherently subjective nature of the test procedure, the polygraph examination cannot be repeated. Successful repetition of a test is the cornerstone of the scientific method."
Opponents of the use of lie detectors noted in New Mexico, polygraphers receive eight weeks of training while barbers need 1,000 hours of training to be licensed.
