People v. Phillips, 469 Mich. 390

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a defendant accused of certain criminal sexual conduct offenses retains the statutory right to request a polygraph examination until a guilty verdict, rather than only until jeopardy attaches. The court nevertheless affirmed the conviction, concluding that the failure to administer the examination was not outcome-determinative given the strength of the prosecution’s evidence and the inadmissibility of polygraph results at trial.

Holdings

1. Under the clear and unambiguous language of MCL 776.21(5), a defendant's statutory right to request a polygraph examination is lost only when the defendant is found guilty and is no longer merely alleged to have committed the offense. The right is not extinguished when jeopardy attaches or merely because trial has begun.
2. Although the trial court erred by failing to provide the requested examination before the guilty verdict, Phillips was not entitled to a new trial or administration of a polygraph examination because he failed to show that the error was more probable than not outcome-determinative.

Questions Presented

1. Whether MCL 776.21(5) permits a defendant accused of enumerated criminal-sexual-conduct offenses to request a polygraph examination after trial has begun but before a verdict.
2. Whether the failure to provide the requested polygraph examination required a new trial or administration of the examination.

Disposition

affirmed