Perjury - Lying Under Oath

What is perjury? It is any act committed by a person who lies or give false statements under oath. Perjury is a serious offense because it's consequences can be grave for the parties concerned. Have you ever committed an act of perjury?

Perjury occurs when you make untrue statements, particularly when under oath in a court of law. It could also happen in written statements when you are sworn to the truth. Perjury is often committed by people who have been called on by the court to serve as witness to a crime and thus, their complete participation is required in the process of seeking and upholding justice.

Most people will place their hand on top of a Bible or any similar holy book to prove that they are telling the truth. In some cases, the witness will have no religion and he or she may opt to provide an affirmation that they will be divulging only the truth as they know it and no other version of it.

Perjury in the United States

In the United States, perjury is regarded as a serious crime and even falsification of your income tax statements can be an occasion for committing this crime. However, the law still makes the delineation between those people who did not know any better and may have inadvertently been less than honest and those who had every intention of telling lies. 

Another essential characteristic of perjury is that the falsification should have a direct impact on the outcome of the trial. Some people may lie about their marital status or their profession while under oath but if these do not have a bearing on the crime or their credibility as witnesses, then it will not be considered perjury. Nonetheless, anyone who takes the stand should strive for the truth in all cases, regardless of any circumstances.

The Type of Perjury that's  Hard to Catch...

Cases of perjury are actually not very common. It is difficult to detect a lie and even when it is discovered, witnesses can always claim that their memory was poor. In some instances, a witness may give contradictory statements in one or several occasions. When this occurs, the contradiction may be brought up during cross-examination but the witness may not be charged with perjury since they are provided with an opportunity to correct themselves and declare the truth.

But a contradictory statement by one witness is very different from contradictory statements of another witness. Similarly, this will not be construed as perjury because people may have different interpretations of the facts and they may also remember events dissimilarly.

To be able to prove that perjury has indeed taken place, several factors need to be in place. First, there should be at least one witness who can testify under oath that another person has indeed committed perjury. But this is not sufficient, since a second factor also has to be present. There should be additional evidence, whether it is a second person who can back up the claims of the first or even documents, artifacts, or other physical evidence that may support the fact that perjury has happened.

When It Isn’t Perjury...

If you have been arrested and given an interrogation at a police station, you are not under oath yet. This means that no police officer can threaten you with committing perjury during this stage of the investigation. It also implies that this is only a scare tactic of most investigators to force you to divulge the truth, so make sure you have a lawyer present first before implicating yourself in anything.

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