The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimous decision that police officers can be forced to take lie detector tests when they are the subject of an internal investigation. The Court ruled that the the public confidence in the police must be protected and therefore when an officer is under investigation he or she must take the test. Justice Cordy wrote the opinion for the Court and extended the current lie detector rule to include instances where the officer is not facing a criminal complaint. Justice Cordy wrote, “We have little hesitation in concluding that, when the functions of a police department are disrupted by allegations of criminal conduct by police officers, the police department’s decision to subject officers reasonably suspected of criminal activities to lie detector tests furthers law enforcement objectives.”
Today all nine members of the Court were right. It is a good day for Massachusetts.
If you or someone you know has a criminal case, contact Criminal Attorney Patrick Donovan.
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