FOX's "Lie Detector"

Boxtop presents

May 04, 1998

Former Los Angeles Prosecutor Marcia Clark discusses her new show on FOX, “Lie Detector”. She also chats about going from criminal defense attorney, to prosecutor, to legal analyst for NBC.

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CCCMyst: Talk City Presents in association with BoxTop Live (tm) Welcomes You to Tonight’s Feature Presentation Tonight we welcome Marcia Clark and now without further ado Welcome Marcia Clark Marcia, welcome to Talk City!

MarciaClark: Thank you

Mysterygirl: Ms Clark, welcome to TalkCity! Tell us about your new Show, “Lie Detector”.

MarciaClark: This is a project I'm really excited about - I've been offered quite a few, but this one seemed to be the perfect fit. I've always been fascinated with polygraphs, and this is a search for the truth, which is what I did as a prosecutor. In this show we take well-known cases and I interview the people involved, and then our polygraph expert puts them on a polygraph - they take a lie-detector test. So the audience has the chance to decide whether they think the subject is lying or not, as she or he is being interviewed, and then they can see whether the polygraph result agrees or disagrees with their opinion!

Minerva: I assume “Lie Detector” is about hooking people up to lie detector machines. Aren't Lie Detectors being relied on less and less in the courts?

MarciaClark: No, lie detectors have never been admissible as evidence in court. But actually they are coming into greater and greater use outside the courtroom. As you may have noticed, some of the more high-profile cases have shown us people involved taking polygraphs and publicizing the results on television, even though they're not admissible in court. For example, the Nanny trial.

Ria: Tell us about some of the people who will be featured on your show?

MarciaClark: Convicted Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols' brother, James Nichols will be asked whether he had knowledge of the Oklahoma City bombing. Jeff Gillooly, Tonya Harding's ex-husband, will be asked whether Tonya Harding knew of, and/or participated in the plan to attack Nancy Kerrigan. Tom Miller, convicted of pulling up a stop sign at an intersection in Tampa Florida, will be asked whether he is guilty, as found by the jury, of pulling up the stop sign that led to the fatal accident in which three teenagers were killed. Captain Lou Albano, longtime pro wrestler, will be asked whether pro wrestling is fixed or real. And in a segment in which I did not participate, Mark Fuhrman is asked whether he planted evidence.

Lulu-belle: Why are results from lie tests not admissible in court?

MarciaClark: Good question! Because you can't guarantee that the polygraph examiner is properly qualified or that he administered the test under the proper conditions. Rigorous standards must be observed and the appropriate questions must be asked to ensure reliability and accuracy.

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