The Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office is hosting a free to attend presentation on Understanding the Polygraph Examination and its Role in Criminal Defense. This CLE is approved for 1 other hour. If you need CLE credit, you must either sign in when you arrive or complete the post-CLE survey after you leave the webinar. If you could not complete the survey, you must email me your name, NC State Bar # and how long you attended (rounded down to nearest ¼ hour) by Friday April 10th. All online attendance is confirmed by what Webex provides. Please register below:
When: April 1, 2026 at 12:30pm.
Where: Anyplace you have internet or the 4th floor conference room of the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office (720 E 4th St Charlotte, take elevator to 4th floor and conference room is on your left)
What: The course will equip defense attorneys with a practical understanding of polygraph examinations and their role in criminal defense practice. Participants will learn how polygraph tests are conducted, the limitations of the technology, and the legal and ethical considerations surrounding their use. I will address strategic decision-making, enabling attorneys to determine when a polygraph may benefit a client and when it may pose risks. Attorneys will also gain the skills necessary to evaluate examiner qualifications and how to advise clients while preserving attorney–client privilege and professional responsibility obligation. I will also include a discussion of analyzing and challenging opposing polygraph evidence.
Who: Shawnda Drummond has over 20 years of experience in law enforcement as a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) until she retired in November 2024. As an FBI Agent, the breadth of Mrs. Drummond’s expertise was in interviews and interrogations as she investigated the following federal violations: Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, Violent Crimes, and Crimes Against Children. She honed her skills and became proficient at eliciting information from victims, witnesses and subjects in order to successfully bring cases to prosecution. Due to her skill in eliciting information via forensic interviewing, Mrs. Drummond became an instructor in Child Forensic Interviewing, Crisis Negotiations, and Child Online Safety for the FBI; and later, an FBI Polygraph Examiner. She was trained and graduated from the leading polygraph school in the world: National Center for Credibility Assessment (NCCA). She served as a Polygraph Examiner at the Charlotte FBI Field Office and as a Supervisory Special Agent and Acting Unit Chief of the Polygraph Unit at FBI Headquarters where she planned, coordinated and conducted operational polygraph exams domestically and internationally, she was a liaison with the NCCA, facilitated ongoing training for FBI Polygraph Examiners, performed polygraph training overseas to foreign partners, conducted vetting exams in Spanish in Latin America; and performed quality control of polygraph exams conducted by FBI Polygraph Examiners to ensure exams complied with legal and regulatory requirements, and met the security and ethical requirements of the FBI. Additionally, Mrs. Drummond is a member of the American Polygraph Association, North Carolina Polygraph Association, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, holds a certificate in sex offender testing from the National Polygraph Academy, and is a licensed Polygraph Examiner in NC; and also serves SC and GA. Vetting employees, applicants, and clients is essential for many government agencies and private law Firms to provide security of operations and top-notch services. Polygraph exams have proven efficacy in supporting those needs. Monarch Polygraph, LLC serves NC, SC, and GA by conducting polygraph exams for local, state, and federal government agencies; and for private sector industries by providing expertise, professionalism, and a human touch using the most reliable testing formats and state of the art equipment available. Monarch Polygraph, LLC understands that its clients want to protect their assets, hire the most qualified candidates, or provide the best legal defense for their clients, and this can be obtained by the polygraph expert services that Monarch Polygraph LLC provides because Monarch Polygraph, LLC does not merely obtain results; it aims to elicit the truth by using a human touch and employing decades of experience. Monarch Polygraph, LLC’s services are not cookie cutter. Instead, all services are tailored to the individual client’s needs with efficiency and accuracy and takes pride in producing results that can be trusted.
Please email Anthony.F.Monaghan@nccourts.org with any questions.