Is truth serum used in civil & criminal court cases? If not then why not?

Sodium thiopental is known as truth serum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_thio鈥?/a>





Just wondering if the truth can be found easier and more directly if a person at question is injected with the truth serum during a witness stand or whatnot.Is truth serum used in civil %26amp; criminal court cases? If not then why not?
It violates your constitutional rights.Is truth serum used in civil %26amp; criminal court cases? If not then why not?
No, it is not. Just like ';lie detector tests'; are not allowed in court, and that is not an invasive procedure like injecting witnesses with a drug would be.





It doesn't work. Did you read the whole article? Here is the relevant section:





Truth serum





Thiopental is still used in some places as a truth serum.[3] The barbiturates as a class decrease higher cortical brain functioning. Some psychiatrists hypothesize that because lying is more complex than telling the truth, suppression of the higher cortical functions may lead to the uncovering of the ';truth';. However, the reliability of confessions made under thiopental is dubious; the drug tends to make subjects chatty and cooperative with interrogators, but a practiced liar or someone who has a false story firmly established would still be quite able to lie while under the influence of the drug.[9]





A lawyer worth the name could get you to admit to anything or everything, or say just about anything they wanted you to say. That isn't how the system is supposed to work.
The CIA has used this for years and LSD to get to the truth however it is very similar to using a polygraph as some can pass it every time.





It was written in our bill of rights that we would have certain rights against such acts for our protection against unreasonable search and seizure this is why it will never be admissible as evidence in a court of law
Because there is no such thing as truth serum. Sodium thiopental does not force you to tell the truth.





Just read your own wikipedia link:


';the reliability of confessions made under thiopental is dubious';
No. There is no actual ';truth serum.'; There are medications that break down resistance, but no drug that absolutely prevents a lie.
No, that is never used. ';Truth serum'; technically doesn't exist. But there are substances that break down your resistance to questioning.
they can take your blood, saliva, urine and fingerprints all unconstitutional and use them for evidence against you so why not? its just another step in the same direction
involuntary testimony, which if it worked at all it would be, is prohibited by the Constitution.