The Crime of Perjury
Section 118: Perjury defined; evidence necessary to support conviction
Section 118.1. Peace officers; false report
Section 123. Materiality and effect of testimony; knowledge of witness
Section 126. Punishment
Section 134. Preparing false documentary evidence
Section 966. Perjury or subornation of perjury; essential allegations; matters which need not be pleaded
Section 118: Perjury defined; evidence necessary to support conviction
(a) Every person who, having taken an oath that he or she will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any of the cases in which the oath may by law of the State of California be administered, willfully and contrary to the oath, states as true any material matter which he or she knows to be false, and every person who testifies, declares, deposes, or certifies under penalty of perjury in any of the cases in which the testimony, declarations, depositions, or certification is permitted by law of the State of California under penalty of perjury and willfully states as true any material matter which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of perjury.
Section 123. Materiality and effect of testimony; knowledge of witness
WITNESSES' KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIALITY OF HIS TESTIMONY NOT NECESSARY. It is no defense to a prosecution for perjury that the accused did not know the materiality of the false statement made by him; or that it did not, in fact, affect the proceeding in or for which it was made. It is sufficient that it was material, and might have been used to affect such proceeding.
Section 126. Punishment
Perjury is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
Section 134. Preparing false documentary evidence
PREPARING FALSE EVIDENCE. Every person guilty of preparing any false or ante-dated book, paper, record, instrument in writing, or other matter or thing, with intent to produce it, or allow it to be produced for any fraudulent or deceitful purpose, as genuine or true, upon any trial, proceeding, or inquiry whatever, authorized by law, is guilty of felony.
Section 966. Perjury or subornation of perjury; essential allegations; matters which need not be pleaded
In an accusatory pleading for perjury, or subornation of perjury, it is sufficient to set forth the substance of the controvery or matter in respect to which the offense was committed, and in what court and before whom the oath alleged to be false was taken, and that the court, or person before whom it was taken, had authority to administer it, with proper allegations of the falsity of the matter on which the perjury is assigned; but the accsatory pleading need not set forth the pleadings, records, or proceedings with which the oath is connected, nor the commission or the authority of the court or person before whom the perjury was committed.
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ariannaonline.com
ncpa.org
How Pervasive Is Perjury? Those who lie under oath in court run the distinct risk of being tried for perjury. But data from the Administrative Office of the Courts reveals that instances of perjury make up only a small part of all federal criminal cases.
In 1996, there were 47,000 federal criminal cases -- but only 99 of those were for perjury, or about 1 in 475.
Those convicted could spend, on average, about 15.6 months in jail -- compared to a 25.1-month stay for all federal offenses, according to 1994 data from the Bureau of Justice.
About 87 percent of federal perjury cases in 1996 resulted in convictions -- with most of the offenders going to jail.
Source: Merrill Matthews Jr. (National Center for Policy Analysis), "Do the Courts Wink at Perjury?" Investor's Business Daily, September
injusticebusters.com
Unless this country's judicial system starts treating perjurers the way it should -- and that is as criminals -- there will be many more Milgaards and Morins and James out there. |
