Also known as: false swearing · perjury · false statement under oath
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A misdemeanor offense committed when a person makes a false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation in an official proceeding or with intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of official functions.
Faith Fitzgerald testified at a civil trial that she never saw the defendant at the scene. The prosecutor offered her earlier deposition testimony, given under penalty of perjury, in which she had identified the defendant. The inconsistency allowed the prior statement to come in as non-hearsay because it had been made under oath in a prior proceeding.
Felicity French testified for the defense in a criminal case. On cross-examination the prosecutor asked whether she belonged to an organization whose rules required members to lie under oath for fellow members. The questions were permitted to show bias even though they touched on potential perjury.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Floyd Franklin submitted a genetic testing report in a parentage action. The report was signed under penalty of perjury by the laboratory designee and therefore became self-authenticating without further testimony.
Fatou Fall attempted to suborn perjury by asking a witness to sign a false affidavit. Because the affidavit would not have been material even if signed, she could not be convicted of attempt to suborn perjury.
Francisco Frost told his lawyer he intended to testify falsely at trial. The lawyer refused to present the testimony and threatened to disclose the perjury to the court. The lawyer's actions did not violate the client's right to effective assistance.
Felipe Figueroa made a false statement under oath during a plea hearing. The government later used that statement against him in a prosecution for false swearing in official matters.
No. The Model Penal Code offense of false swearing in official matters does not require materiality. The prosecution need only show that the defendant made a false statement under oath in an official proceeding or to mislead a public servant.
Supporting sources
Common-law perjury requires a material false statement made willfully and corruptly in a judicial proceeding. False swearing in official matters under the Model Penal Code is a misdemeanor that reaches false statements in any official proceeding or those intended to mislead a public servant and does not require materiality.
Supporting sources
Yes. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(A), a prior inconsistent statement given under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or deposition is not hearsay when the declarant testifies and is subject to cross-examination.
…and most noble aspirations: our unwillingness to subject those suspected of crime to the cruel trilemma of self-accusation, perjury or contempt; our preference for an accusatorial rather than an inquisitorial system of criminal justice; our fear that self-incriminating statements will be elicited by inhumane treatment…