Sergeant doesn't want lie detector test at hearing board

CHARLES TOWN -– A Jefferson County sheriff's sergeant has asked that a lie detector test not be allowed in front of a hearing board that is expected to rule on formal charges alleging the sergeant had sexual relations with a co-worker while he was supposed to be working.

Michael T. Dodson filed a petition for a writ of prohibition in Jefferson Circuit Court on Nov. 12.

Dodson is accused of lying to his superior officers at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office about having sexual relations with Cpl. Tracy Edwards during work hours in late 2006 and in May 2007, according to the writ.

"In particular, this investigation involved certain inappropriate activities between Sergeant Michael Dodson and a subordinate deputy, while one or both were on duty in Jefferson County," a letter to Dodson from Boober states. "Additionally, during the course his investigation Sergeant Dodson willfully and knowingly made certain untruthful statements to the lieutenant, in his official capacity as a superior."

The hearing board will determine whether Dodson is terminated.

Jefferson County Sheriff Everett Boober plans to present a lie detector test to a hearing board.

"Throughout the course of this investigation it is obvious that you responded untruthfully to questions posed by Lieutenant Colbert and the polygraph examiner," Boober's letter states. "There is no place within this organization for a deputy, particularly a shift commander, which can not be relied upon for his/her honesty and to tell the truth when questioned by command staff officers."

But Dodson claims the lie detector test should not be used in his hearing.

"That reliance upon polygraph tests is misplaced; the results are subjective," the writ states. "Therefore, the results should not be produced as evidence nor relied upon by the Hearing Board to make its determination of the formal charges and should be stricken from the investigation report and the Hearing Board should be ordered to ignore said polygraph results for its determination."

If the results of the polygraph test are presented to the hearing board, the hearing board will exceed its lawful jurisdiction and Boober will have violated his employer obligations to Dodson, he claims.

Dodson is seeking the court issue a rule to show why Boober and the hearing board should not be prohibited from considering and receiving into evidence the results of the polygraph test, to continue the hearing scheduled before the hearing board until Jefferson Circuit Court hears the matter, attorney's fees and costs.

He is represented by Michael L. Scales of Greenberg and Scales in Martinsburg.

Jefferson Circuit Court case number: 08-C-455