Rank v. State

DIMOND, Justice.

An unoccupied dwelling owned by appellant Harry Rank and his wife was almost totally destroyed by fire on March 27, 1961. Rank was indicted for first degree arson, and was convicted of that crime after a trial by jury. The main question on this appeal has to do with evidence of Rank’s failure to take a polygraph (lie-detector) examination and his claim that the admission of such evidence was reversible error.

1. The Polygraph.

The testimony on the lie-detector test first came out in the direct examination of police officer Rush for the prosecution. In the course of investigating…