ERVIN AGAINST LIE DETECTOR TESTS FOR U.S. EMPLOYEES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000200590021-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 1, 1999
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: September 17, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2000/05/05 $. I -A
1Ervin Against Lie Detector
Tests For U. S? Employees
By ALBERT SEHLSTEDT, JR. Se
(Washington Bureau of Tho Sun)
Washington, Sept. 16 - Con-
gress may have set back the
mystery writing business 30
years last week in a debate
marked by sharp denunciations
of a detective story standby, the
lie detector.
The lie detector, or polygraph,
was the object of the gentle and
sometimes humorous wrath of
Senator; Ervin (D., N.C.), a
former 'circuit judge, the Se-
nate's expert on constitutional
law, and, last Wednesday, the
advocate of a "bill of rights"
for Federal employees.
Made A Study
Ervin, deploring use of the lie
,detector on Federal employees,
said at one point, during the
debate that "it is my belief that
a man who will believe in the
polygraph will believe in witch-
craft."
Recalling his days on the
,bench, Ervin said he had made
a study of the lie detector when
the was,presiding'at a homicide
case- in which the admission of
polygraph evidence was a ques-
tion.
"At. that. time," Ervin told his
CPYRGHT
colleagues,. "I made a serious
study of the polygraph and I
have continued the study ever
since. I have found that the`
polygraph test merely measures
physical reactions such as re-1
spiration, temperature, bloodi
pressure, pulse rate and heart'
beat. I
"I found that the polygraph
test is not admissible in any,
court in the United States, be-
cause of its unreliability." ?
Ervin, who has a down-on-the-+
ffarm demeanor and a face that
always seems on the verge of a
smile, contended that a "brazen
liar" could pass a lie detector
test, while a person who would
become easily agitated. might
fail.
The North Carolinian noted
eCentral Intelligence Agency,:
said the polygraph had been;
incidentally that two defectors
of 1960 and former employees of
the National Security Agency,
Bernon F. Mitchell and William
11. Martin, had both passed lie
detector tests.
However, as the debate wore
on in the Senate, some good
things about lie detectors were
heard.
Keeping Some Out
Senator Jackson (D., Wash.',
who serves on a subcommittee
which keeps an eye on the
!instrumental in keeping some
people out of the CIA, who
should not have been in it.
"Last year over 100 security
risks were stopped by the poly-
graph tests," Jackson said. "All
other means of security inquiry,
all other means of testing
failed. ..
"The polygraph does not ne-
cessarily establish ? truth or un-
truth. I have- real questions
about the polygraph as a gener-
al. proposition, but it can be a
valuable aid in providing inves-
tigative leads." - ?
Make It Unlawful
The aim of Ervin's bill is to
make it unlawful for any de-
partment or agency of the
Government to require any civi-
lian employee or job applicant
to take a lie detector test de-
signed to obtain information
about certain personal matters,
such as his religious beliefs,
family relationships or sex atti-
tudes.
The bill, If passed by the.
House and signed into law,
would not eliminate the use of
polygraphs by the Goverm'nent,;
but would restrict their use to
'limited areas.
UUUUIVILN 15bF'ARATOR SHEET
Approved For Release 2000/05/05: CIA-RDP75-00149R000200590021-6
 E72s ~ proved For Release 2000/05/05: CIA..
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The Privacy of Our Spies
I CIA. Seeks' Unlimited Power Over Ids Staff
tell.igence Agency's efforts By EDITH KERMIT ROOSEVELT#
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