How Junk Polygraphs Convicted Emmanuel Mervilus

In Mervilus v. Union County, the Third Circuit evaluated a wrongful conviction lawsuit brought by Emmanuel Mervilus, who spent over a decade in prison after being convicted using disputed polygraph evidence. The appellate court vacated the district court's summary judgment in favor of the detective, ruling that a reasonable jury could conclude the examiner acted in bad faith by utilizing an unaccredited and heavily biased testing method. Furthermore, the court determined that Union County could still face municipal liability under a failure-to-train theory even if the individual investigator is ultimately exonerated of personal liability. Ultimately, the case was vacated and remanded for further judicial proceedings to properly evaluate the merits of both the fabrication claims and the supervisory policies.