Perjury

When someone commits an act of deception while under oath in a legal proceeding, that person can be charged with the crime of perjury. The classification of crime and resulting punishment varies by jurisdiction, but it is usually a felony that carries a fine, a prison sentence, or both. A person may commit perjury in an attempt to protect either himself or someone else or, in the case of a law enforcement official, may be motivated by the desire to secure a conviction. Despite a widespread belief that perjury is common, the crime is difficult to prove because of the strict requirements of evidence, and it is relatively easy to defend based on such claims as forgetfulness. As a result, only very strong cases tend to be prosecuted, so although there are few cases overall, there is a high rate of conviction.

In early societies, such as the Roman Empire, lying under oath had both moral and religious implications and was treated as a sin rather than a crime. The modern origin of the crime can be traced back to 16th-century England, when the Perjury Statute of 1563 was enacted, making perjury a prosecutable offense. It became part of British common law, a set of legal precedents that are used to decide court cases. The U.S. legal system, including its perjury laws, is based on British common law.

There are two main sections of U.S. law, Chapter 79, Title 18, Sections 1621 and 1623, which contain definitions of perjury. According to these laws, a deceptive statement must contain a number of elements to qualify as perjury. First, as with most definitions of deception, the false statement must be made knowingly with the intent to mislead. This eliminates cases in which the witness made a false statement because of a bad memory or because he was confused by the question. Second, the statement must be unambiguously false. A statement that is misleading, but technically true, is not perjury. Third, the statement must be material. This means that it must be of some importance and have a direct influence on the potential outcome of the related proceeding. A lie that is minor or unrelated to the case would not qualify as perjury.

Fourth, the statement must be made after the witness has sworn under oath to tell the truth. A witness who lies to a police officer has not committed perjury because she is not under oath. Finally, the witness must make the statement either as part of a judicial proceeding or after acknowledging that she is operating under penalty of perjury. This includes written and oral statements in both civil and criminal courtroom proceedings, sworn depositions taken outside of the courtroom, testimonies before legislative bodies, and statements such as income tax returns, which are signed under penalty of perjury. A federal perjury conviction carries a maximum of five years in prison, with a maximum fine of between $2,000 and $10,000, depending on the exact charge.

[Page 754]Individual U.S. states and other countries have laws that apply to their own judicial systems; these may be somewhat different from the U.S. laws. For example, New York State Penal Code Article 210 defines three degrees of perjury, ranging in severity from a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, to a class D felony, punishable by up to seven years in state prison. In Michigan, someone who commits perjury in a capital felony case can receive a life sentence. Canada has a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. On the opposite end of the spectrum is France, where criminal suspects cannot technically commit perjury because they are not allowed to testify under oath.

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