It has been held that a defense polygraphist may be unduly influenced to find the defendant examinee truthful to insure repeated business (Orne 1975). The concept of the "friendly polygraphist" appears to have been accepted by many members of the psychological and legal community. This study was designed to examine that concept. From the total number of cases examined in this study, 39 were conducted for defense attorneys under attorney-client privilege, and 34 of those were scored deceptive, and subsequently confirmed. Furthermore, defense attorney cases showed a mean chart score of -9.38 compared with police cases which showed a mean chart score of -9.10, which suggests similar states of autonomic arousal. Another group, commercial cases which were not tested under privilege, showed a mean chart score of -9.90. Because these guilty cases have similar scores, the idea that defense subjects lack the fear of arousal found in other populations is without merit, leaving the "friendly polygraphist" concept without support. Cases cited list, 3 tables, and 11 references. (Author abstract)