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LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

polygraph

Read a random definition: riparian right

A quick definition of polygraph:

A polygraph, also known as a lie detector test, is a machine that measures a person's physical responses when they answer questions. It checks things like heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductivity to determine if someone is telling the truth. However, the test is not always accurate and cannot actually detect honesty. It is often used to try and prove if someone committed a crime, but it is not admissible as evidence in court. During the test, the person being tested is hooked up to devices and asked questions, including control questions and relevant questions. The test is based on the idea that an innocent person will be more agitated answering control questions than relevant questions. Another type of test, called the Guilty Knowledge test, asks multiple-choice questions that only someone who committed the crime would know the answer to.

A more thorough explanation:

A polygraph, also known as a lie detector test, is a machine that measures a person's physical responses when they answer questions. The test measures a person's heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductivity. The purpose of the test is usually to determine whether or not a person committed a crime.

However, the polygraph test cannot actually test for honesty. Instead, it relies on the polygraph operator's analysis of the tested person's responses, which can be inaccurate. As a result, polygraphs are usually not admissible as evidence in United States courts.

The polygraph test begins by attaching devices such as pneumographs, blood pressure cuffs, and electrodes to a person's body. The person is then told how the test works and asked some sample questions. Next, the tester will use a technique such as the Control Question Test (CQT) or the Guilty Knowledge test (GKT).

Under the CQT, the person answers both control and relevant questions. Control questions are broader and pertain to a person's past, while relevant questions pertain to the crime a person is under suspicion of committing. The underlying assumption is that a person innocent of suspected crime will be more agitated answering the control questions than the relevant questions.

During the GKT, a person answers a multiple-choice test that contains answers that only a person who committed the crime would know. The thought behind this test is that the correct answer out of a lineup would cause a greater reaction from a person who was guilty, whereas an innocent person's response would not differ.

John was suspected of stealing money from his workplace. To prove his innocence, he was asked to take a polygraph test. During the test, John's heart rate and blood pressure increased when he answered the control questions, which were about his past behavior. However, his responses to the relevant questions, which were about the crime he was accused of, did not cause a significant reaction. Based on this, the polygraph operator concluded that John was telling the truth and did not steal the money.

polygamy | POMS

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medicine is a scam
join the ethically ambiguous legal field instead
Dkk
18:57
I want to meet an attorney that defends clients who run into flat earth problems. I want an attorney that knows and believes in flat earth theory.
19:05
i want a flat earther for president. i want a guy who posts on 4chan for president. i want someone who mogs for president.
Dkk
19:18
Exactly. My version of that awful poem.
Dkk
19:19
I can accept a president with maybe one or two of the poems traits hut good God, all of them??? No ty.
windyMagician
19:20
president who respects sex is crazy
windyMagician
19:20
we had bill clinton already
Dkk
19:21
Bill Clinton, first and last black president
windyMagician
19:23
I want to go running but my leg feels weird
windyMagician
19:23
it doesn't hurt its just tingly
Dkk
19:26
It needs more alcohol. You tingle when your nerves need watering.
19:27
try stretching it maybe to see what's up
windyMagician
19:27
stretches make me think it's just soreness
windyMagician
19:27
I'm sober lol
Dkk
19:38
Anyone else get the google notification that your LSD password has been compromised lol. LSD got hacked.
20:48
what.jpg @Dkk
CynicalOops
21:03
You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?
jackfrost11770
21:10
nope dk
CynicalOops
22:37
Calvinamala Harris
jackfrost11770
23:16
should i start using letterboxed again
Dkk
23:25
@jackfrost11770: if you want but like it aint for me
dk do u ever eat at bk
Dkk
23:48
@chickenburgahfart: I would do that in the Army if really desperate for food or if I had to work through lunch. One of the few fast food places I go to.
bk so slept on
Dkk
0:23
I will take In N Out everyday over it when I can though.
texaslawhopefully
1:22
In N Out is not only the best fast food place, but the prices too are fantastic
Dkk
1:27
Indeed, indeed.
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