Also known as: false statements · misstatement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An assertion of fact or law that is not true. The assertion supports liability or impeachment when made knowingly and with intent to mislead or when it concerns a material matter under oath.
Felicia Fuentes represents a client in a contract dispute before a state court. During the hearing she cites a statute that she later learns has been amended to remove the key language supporting her position. She continues arguing the outdated version without informing the judge of the change. The tribunal relies on her presentation when ruling in her client's favor.
Francesca Fowler testifies as a witness in a civil contract action. Five years earlier she was convicted of submitting inaccurate provenance documents to a state agency. The court determines that the elements of her crime required proof of a false statement. Opposing counsel offers the conviction to attack her credibility.
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Floyd Franklin, a local contractor unknown to the public, sues a newsletter publisher after it prints an article accusing him of overbilling clients. He proves the statements were false and made with negligence but offers no evidence of actual malice. The court applies a fault standard short of actual malice and permits recovery of actual damages.
Fatima Flores negotiates a settlement on behalf of her client. She tells opposing counsel that certain financial records do not exist when she knows they do. The misrepresentation induces the other side to accept a lower settlement amount.
Finn Fletcher submits an application for admission to the bar. He answers no to a question asking whether he has ever been subject to professional discipline even though he received a public reprimand two years earlier. The admissions committee later discovers the omission during its investigation.
Freya Freeman calls 911 while fleeing an assailant and describes the attack in real time. Later at trial the prosecutor seeks to introduce her statements. The court classifies them as nontestimonial because they were made to resolve an ongoing emergency rather than to establish past facts for prosecution.
A conviction is automatically admissible under Rule 609(a)(2) when the court can readily determine that the underlying crime required proof or admission of a dishonest act or false statement, regardless of the punishment authorized.
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A lawyer must not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal and must correct any material false statement previously made by the lawyer to the tribunal.
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A private figure need not prove actual malice. States may set a fault standard short of actual malice, but presumed or punitive damages require a showing of actual malice.
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Yes. Model Rule 4.1(a) prohibits a lawyer from knowingly making a false statement of material fact or law to a third person while representing a client.
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Knowingly making a material false statement in a bar admission application violates Rule 8.1(a) and can result in denial of admission or later disciplinary action if the applicant is admitted.
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…the liberties which are embodied in the First and Fourteenth Amendments. It may be urged that deliberately and maliciously false statements have no conceivable value as free speech. That argument, however, is not responsive to the real issue presented by this case, which is whether that freedom of speech which all agree is…