All About Perjury

Posted on May 16, 2008
Filed Under Legal and Law |

In a court of law, after swearing under oath, most people expect plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making false statements under oath while in a court of law, or in any sworn statement in writing. Perjury is a criminal offense because the law relies on truthful witness testimony in order to maintain its fairness and credibility. In the United States, a person accused of forswearing can face up to five years in prison.

If a witness does not swear to tell the truth but can only affirm that they are speaking honestly, they are also liable to be charged with perjury if they fail at this endeavor. Affirmation is used instead of swearing for the witnesses who prefer not to make an oath on a holy book. Another case where forswearing is a possible penalty is if a person falsifies information in a situation under the penalty of perjury, even if the person has not sworn or affirmed under oath to tell the truth.

A person’s recollection or interpretation of a situation is not considered perjury, even if it deviates from the actual unfolding of events. To officially commit perjury, one must have had the proper state of mind, intentional obstruction of the truth, to commit the crime. Several famous celebrities have been convicted, including Martha Stewart, Lewis “Libby” Scooter, an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, and Alger Hiss, an alleged Soviet Spy who worked for the United States Department of State.

Also known as lying under oath, perjury must be considered vital to the resolution of the case to be a criminal offense. A witness can lie about their age under oath and have it not be considered a crime, as long as their age is not vital to the legal decision. It is generally difficult to prove a person was purposefully falsifying information rather than just misremembering the actual events, therefore, the pursuit of perjury charges in court is rare. Additionally, a witness is allowed to make two contradictory statements as long as they admit one is false, an effort by the court to encourage truth telling. Inconsistencies between witnesses’ testimonies are not considered to be illegal, as different people have varying versions of the same story.

If you are interested in learning more, this perjury website can provide more information.

Joseph Devine

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