Peyton v. United States

SCHWELB, Associate Judge:

These consolidated appeals present the question—one of first impression in this jurisdiction, though much-litigated elsewhere— whether the trial judge committed prejudicial error by refusing to declare a mistrial after a key prosecution witness , volunteered, during his redirect examination, that he had taken a “lie detector” test. The issue is a troubling one, for even an indirect reference to the administration of a polygraph examination has a substantial potential for prejudice. In this case, however, the trial judge’s prompt, thorough and effective admonition to…