If you are facing criminal charges, your criminal defense attorney in Greenville, SC will advise you to use nearly any means at your disposal to establish your innocence. In some cases, this means taking a polygraph exam. These “lie detector” tests make many people nervous, and many people on trial in the state are tempted to research the polygraph testing procedures to attempt to “beat” the test through the use of common deception techniques. These techniques are very much discouraged, and as experienced criminal defense lawyers in SC, we want to explain to you just how bad attempting to beat a polygraph exam can make things for you and your case.
Common Deception Techniques and Why They Won’t Work
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One common technique often seen by criminal defense lawyers in Greenville, SC is the use of antiperspirant on the hands to impede sweat glands. However, if you attempt this, it can prevent the machine to see normal perspiration readings. This is a clear sign of deception, and you will be asked to wash your hands. In addition, the examiner will mark your test for the attempted deceit – not something that will look good for you and your South Carolina criminal defense attorney.
Another common strategy is to lie on the control questions. Some questions asked during a polygraph exam are considered to be “controls” to set a baseline for the exam. These are questions like “Have you ever done something you felt guilty about?” The idea is that by lying on this question, the test won’t have a true baseline for comparison, and so lies will be more difficult to detect. However, examiners are easily able to tell if you are lying on a control question (for instance – who hasn’t felt guilty about something they did?), and will catch on to your deception attempt.
Changing breathing patterns, or carefully holding your breath during certain points of the exam, are also popular theories among the internet “experts” on beating a polygraph exam. As criminal defense attorneys in Greenville, SC, we doubt these so-called experts have seen as many polygraph exams as we have. These deception techniques are known to examiners, as well, and they will be looking for those countermeasures. Once again, if you are caught being deceptive, this will greatly harm your case.
When you take a polygraph exam, you are not merely being tested by the machine. You are also being examined by an experienced and trained professional who administers these tests for a living. By attempting to beat a polygraph exam, you are not merely trying to fool a machine, but attempting to deceive a professional who is exceptionally good at observing behavior. The best advice that we have as criminal defense attorneys in SC is never to attempt to fool a polygraph exam.
Should I Take a Polygraph? Insight from a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Greenville SC
If you are considering submitting to a polygraph exam, as seasoned criminal defense lawyers in SC, we cannot offer actual legal advice via our blog, but we can offer a little bit of insight to help you make your decision.
If you are the subject of an ongoing police investigation, we strongly urge you not to take a polygraph exam until you have retained the services of a criminal defense attorney in SC, passed a private polygraph exam, and your criminal defense lawyer in SC recommends that you go ahead and submit to the police test.
This advice does not depend on whether you believe you are falsely accused of a crime. Polygraph exams on average are quite accurate, but there are occasional false positives – that is, persons indicated as lying who are telling the truth. This is why we always recommend taking a private polygraph after talking it over with your criminal defense lawyer in Greenville, SC. Some people are simply not good candidates for a polygraph, and if you are one of those people, you don’t want to find out while taking the exam at the police station.
Here at Lauren Taylor Law, our criminal defense lawyers in Greenville, SC make frequent use of polygraph exams in instances where we feel the exam will work to the client’s benefit. These exams are utilized both pre-arrest when a client knows only that they are under investigation, and post-arrest when the client has been charged with a crime. A private polygraph exam administered in the office of a Greenville defense attorney produces results which may be shared with the prosecution or police if the test is passed – and, if the test is not passed, no one needs to know that it was ever taken. Favorable polygraph results can help you to avoid serious charges – but proceed with caution. Do not take an undue risk by submitting to a polygraph exam without the assistance of a criminal defense attorney in SC, and whatever you do, don’t try to deceive, cheat, fool, or beat the test. The examiner will know, and it will seriously harm your credibility.
How Can a Greenville Criminal Defense Lawyer Help You?
The experienced defense attorneys at Greenville’s Lauren Taylor law work with many clients at many different stages of criminal proceedings, including those who have not yet been arrested, those who have been arrested, and those who are in the trial process. If you are arrested on criminal charges, there is much work that needs to be finished before your first court appearance, and the first item on your to-do list should be to retain the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney in SC . Your attorney will be your closest ally during your legal proceedings and will fight every day to ensure that your trial results in the best possible outcome for you.
Criminal defense lawyers in Greenville, SC are here to represent those accused of a crime – not only those who are guilty, and not only those who are innocent. Do not presume that by contacting a Greenville criminal defense lawyer that you are somehow implying or admitting guilt. Criminal trials are a complicated process, and no matter what your situation is, you need an experienced attorney to ensure that your rights are protected, advising you as to the best road forward, and working every day to get the charges against you reduced or dropped entirely. If you have been accused of a crime, or are currently under investigation for a crime, don’t wait. Hire a Greenville, SC criminal defense attorney today.
South Carolina divorce attorney Lauren Taylor practices family law in Charleston and Greenville. She graduated from the Charlotte School of Law, and has been practicing for more than ten years.
Since the firm’s inception in 2012, Mrs. Taylor has helped hundreds of people navigate the uncertainties surrounding the family and criminal court process.
She has cultivated a team that ensures each case has a strategy crafted specifically to the clients needs and desires.
Her commitment to top notch service has led her to open two additional offices in the low country where she now resides with her husband Michael and her golden retriever, Buster.