Perjury
 |
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and the United Kingdom and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (July 2010) |
 |
| Criminal law |
|---|
| Part of the common law series |
| Element (criminal law) |
| Actus reus · Mens rea Causation · Concurrence |
| Scope of criminal liability |
| Complicity · Corporate · Vicarious |
| Inchoate offenses |
| Attempt · Conspiracy · Solicitation |
| Offence against the person |
| Assault · Battery False imprisonment · Kidnapping Mayhem · Sexual assault |
| Crimes against property |
| Arson · Blackmail · Burglary Embezzlement · Extortion False pretenses · Larceny Receiving stolen property Robbery · Theft |
| Crimes against justice |
| Compounding · Misprision Obstruction · Perjury Malfeasance in office Perverting the course of justice |
| Defenses to liability |
| Defense of self Defence of property Consent · Diminished responsibility Duress · Entrapment Ignorantia juris non excusat Infancy · Insanity Intoxication defense Justification · Mistake (of law) Necessity · Provocation |
| Other common law areas |
| Contracts · Evidence · Property Torts · Wills, trusts and estates |
| Portals |
| Criminal justice · Law |
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding.[1] That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the case. For example, it is not considered perjury to lie about one's age unless age is a factor in determining the legal result, such as eligibility for old age retirement benefits.
Perjury is considered a serious offense as it can be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice. In the United States, for example, the general perjury statute under Federal law defines perjury as a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to five years.[2] In the United Kingdom a potential penalty for perjury is a prison sentence of up to 7 years.[3] However prosecutions for perjury are rare.[4] In some countries such as France, Italy, and Germany, suspects cannot be heard under oath or affirmation and thus cannot commit perjury, regardless of what they say during their trial.
The rules for perjury also apply when a person has made a statement under penalty of perjury, even if the person has not been sworn or affirmed as a witness before an appropriate official. An example of this is the United States' income tax return, which, by law, must be signed as true and correct under penalty of perjury (see 26 U.S.C. § 6065). Federal tax law provides criminal penalties of up to three years in prison for violation of the tax return perjury statute. See .
Statements of interpretation of fact are not perjury because people often make inaccurate statements unwittingly and not deliberately.[citation needed] Individuals may have honest but mistaken beliefs about certain facts, or their recollection may be inaccurate. Like most other crimes in the common law system, to be convicted of perjury one must have had the intention (mens rea) to commit the act, and to have actually committed the act (actus reus). Subornation of perjury, attempting to induce another person to perjure themselves, is itself a crime.
Contents |
[edit] Convicted perjurers
- Jonathan Aitken, British politician, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in 1999 for perjury.[5]
- Jeffrey Archer, British novelist and politician, was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for perjury in 2001.[6]
- Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit mayor was convicted of perjury in 2008 in relation to text messages he sent to his chief of staff, Christine Beatty .[7]
- Marion Jones, American athlete, was found guilty of two counts of perjury in 2008.[8]
- Mark Fuhrman, Los Angeles Police Department detective, entered a no contest plea to a perjury charge relating to his testimony in the murder trial of O. J. Simpson.[9]
- Lil' Kim, American rapper was convicted of perjury in 2005 after lying to a grand jury in 2003.[10]
- Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted in 2007 of two counts of perjury in connection with the Plame affair .[11]
- Bernie Madoff, the former Chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange , in 2009 he was found guilty of perjury in relation to investment fraud arising from his operating a Ponzi scheme .[12]
- Michele Sindona, convicted of perjury related to a bogus kidnapping in August 1979.[13]
[edit] Allegations of perjury
Notable people who have been accused of perjury include:
- Barry Bonds has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly perjuring himself in testimony before a grand jury in 2003 as part of the BALCO steroid scandal, in which he denied using any performance-enhancing drugs.[14]
- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was accused of perjury and as a result was impeached by the House of Representatives on 19 December 1998.[15] No criminal charges were ever brought and upon leaving office he accepted immunity.[16]
- Tommy Sheridan, Scottish politician, and his wife Gail, preliminary hearings in relation to their case have taken place in 2009-10.[17]
- Former Premier of Queensland Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen was acquitted of perjury due to a hung jury
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Perjury - What is it?". Law Advice: White Collar Crimes. FreeAdvice. 2008-12. http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/white_collar_crimes/perjury.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ See: 18 U.S.C. § 1621; 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
- ^ Perjury Act 1911 Perjury Act 1911
- ^ "Perjury". Criminal Law Lawyer Source. http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/terms/perjury.html. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- ^ "UK Politics: Aitken's downfall complete". BBC News Online (BBC). 8 June 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/364174.stm. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ "Archer jailed for perjury". BBC News Online (BBC). 19 July 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1424501.stm. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Chris Lawrence (24 March 2008). "Detroit mayor faces felony charges". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/24/kilpatrick.investigation/index.html. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Lynn Zinser (12 January 2008). "Judge Sentences Jones to 6 Months in Prison". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/sports/othersports/12jones.html. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ "Mark Fuhrman's perjury probation ends". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/US/9804/24/briefs.pm/fuhrman/index.html.
- ^ "Lil' Kim Sentenced To Jail". NME. 8 July 2005. http://www.nme.com/news/lil-kim/20403. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Dowd, Maureen. "Lewis "Scooter" Libby conviction". New York Times (New York Times). http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/i_lewis_libby_jr/index.html. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
- ^ Brockman, Joshua (17 December 2008). "Q&A: Madoff Case Puts Spotlight On SEC". National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98272825. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
- ^ "Nation: Account Settled". Time (Time). 7 April 1980. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921970,00.html. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
- ^ "Barry Bonds indicted on perjury, obstruction charges". ESPN. 19 November 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3112487. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ Alison Mitchell (20 December 1998). "Impeachment: the overview -- Clinton impeached; he faces a senate trial, 2d in history; vows to do job till term's 'last hour'". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/20/us/impeachment-overview-clinton-impeached-he-faces-senate-trial-2d-history-vows-job.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Neil A Lewis (20 January 2000). "Exiting Job, Clinton Accepts Immunity Deal". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/20/us/transition-in-washington-the-president-exiting-job-clinton-accepts-immunity-deal.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ "Sheridan charged in perjury probe". BBC News online (BBC). 16 December 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7146907.stm. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
[edit] External links
 |
Look up perjury in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
