Polygraph Sting: Free Speech or Criminal Conduct?

[Hobbes]

Interesting question here.
Does teaching someone how to successfully pass a polygraph test equate to criminal conduct?
Keep in mind, a federal court has already ruled that blinking your lights to warn others of approaching police radar is free speech.
We will put aside the question of entrapment for the moment.



A former Oklahoma City police officer has been indicted on federal charges of witness tampering and mail fraud, accused of helping people fraudulently pass polygraph tests.

Douglas G. Williams, 69, of Norman, was indicted Friday in Oklahoma City federal court on two counts of mail fraud and three counts of witness tampering.
Williams owns and operates polygraph.com, a website which purports that even innocent people can fail polygraph tests, also known as lie detectors, and provides counsel on how to pass them.

Williams has two books available for sale, one of which is called “How To Sting the Polygraph.” The other is titled “From Cop To Crusader.”
Williams said he was an Oklahoma City police officer from 1969-79 and headed up the polygraph division of the department’s internal affairs division. He said that he left the department at the rank of detective sergeant.

Police personnel records for Williams weren’t available Friday.

“This is a blatant attack on my First Amendment right to free speech as evidenced by the statements made by the customs and border patrol internal agent who headed up this investigation,” Williams said.

Williams said he could not comment further, at the request of his attorney.
The indictments were filed after two undercover operations into Williams’ business, one in 2012 and the other in 2013.

During the first undercover operation, a law officer told him that he was an airport inspector for homeland security accused of allowing a friend to pass through customs with contraband, according to the indictment.
The undercover law officer reportedly told Williams that he was lying, and after initially saying he would not help, met the undercover officer and exchanged training for money.

The second undercover law officer told Williams that he was a sheriff’s deputy in Virginia who was attempting to be hired as a border patrol agent.
At one point, Williams reportedly told him, “I can train you how to pass if you’re lying,” court records show. The rest of the quote, along with many others in the indictment, are expletive-laden.

The second undercover officer met Williams at his rented office in Norman for training in exchange for money. During the meeting, the officer admitted to smuggling cocaine into a jail for an inmate and having some sort of illicit sexual contact with a high school student, the indictment states.

http://newsok.com/court-indicts-for...-tampering-mail-fraud-charges/article/5366968


This is the guy's website
http://polygraph.com/

This is the text of the DOJ press release
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner...g-customers-lir-during-federally-administered

 

[mr ed]

I would think that if it was a manual for anybody to read. its free speech.
If you personally train someone its criminal activity.

 

[ignerntbend]

"The Machine Tells The Tale"

 

[Johnny]

Need to make a better polygraph I reckon. It is like everything else. If people were honest we wouldn't need a lot of the rules and laws we have.

 

[nofearfactor]

The old thumb tack in the shoe or act nervous even when answering the most obvious easy questions. Think myth busters has busted how to beat them.

 

[MoBoost]

Teaching about polygraph - free speech.
Telling people to lie during a trial - criminal conduct.

 

[Glocktogo]

Teaching about polygraph - free speech.
Telling people to lie during a trial - criminal conduct.

If the affidavit is correct, this guy is obviously a dirtbag. However, I fail to see how teaching someone to beat a polygraph is tampering with a witness, since in most cases a polygraph test is inadmissible in court. I don't know all the federal laws surrounding their use though, so it's possible they have a law on the books that covers this.

Never forget that it's illegal for you to lie to the government, but it's not illegal for them to lie to you.

 

[dennishoddy]

a polygraph test is inadmissible in court. I don't know all the federal laws surrounding their use though, so it's possible they have a law on the books that covers this.

Never forget that it's illegal for you to lie to the government, but it's not illegal for them to lie to you.

Both are correct.

I saw a program on 60 minutes one time where taking a simple aspirin can have an effect on the outcome of a lie detector test.

They are typically inaccurate.

 

[caojyn]

Never forget that it's illegal for you to lie to the government, but it's not illegal for them to lie to you.

Exactly! And that no matter how much you trust the police, always remember they are trained to never trust you.

 

[TedKennedy]

If the affidavit is correct, this guy is obviously a dirtbag. However, I fail to see how teaching someone to beat a polygraph is tampering with a witness, since in most cases a polygraph test is inadmissible in court. I don't know all the federal laws surrounding their use though, so it's possible they have a law on the books that covers this.

Never forget that it's illegal for you to lie to the government, but it's not illegal for them to lie to you.

I don't see him in any different light than a criminal defense attorney. Both are simply doing a job, just trying to get the best outcome for their client. Seeing all the sneaky, and downright dishonest ways the State tries to secure convictions makes me root for almost anyone trying to beat them at their own game.