A criminal defendant’s submission to an unreliable polygraph test as part of a proffer agreement by the state does not constitute ineffective assistance, according to the Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

In a decision filed July 20, the court affirmed a post-conviction ruling by a PCR court, which determined that petitioner Theodore Willis’s trial counsel was not deficient and did not prejudice his defense. Willis had taken a “proffer agreement” offered by the state, using the advice of his trial attorney.