You could be charged with perjury even if you haven’t testified in court.
It’s a lesson most of us learn in childhood: don’t lie. And from television, movies and even politics, most of us are familiar with the oath that people take before the give testimony in a court case, solemnly swearing to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” So it seems that avoiding a crime like perjury is probably pretty easy: don’t lie when you are testifying under oath.
But perjury is about more than just lying under oath. For example, did you know that you could be charged with perjury if you lied on an application? If you signed an affidavit that contained false information? There are many different situations in your life where perjury charges could potentially arise, which makes it all the more important that you understand exactly what perjury is — and how you can avoid committing this crime.
In California, it is a felony to commit the crime of perjury. There are four elements to this crime:
- That you made a deliberate or willful statement,
- Knowing that the statement was false,
- That you were under oath to tell the truth at the time you made the statement, and
- That the statement was (or related to) a “material” fact.
The first element of perjury is that you made a statement on purpose — that you filled out a form, wrote something, said something or otherwise provided information on purpose. Second, when you made the statement, you did so knowing that it was false. Third, you were under oath at the time that you made your statement. This does not always mean that you have been sworn in by an officer in court; many applications and forms require you to sign them “under penalty of perjury.” If you sign something “under penalty of perjury,” then you may be considered to be under oath for purposes of a perjury charge. Fourth, the statement must be related to a material fact, which means one that is relevant or could impact the outcome of the proceeding in which it was made.
Perjury can happen in many different ways. If you fill out a false application for welfare benefits, you could be charged with perjury in addition to welfare fraud for lying on your application about the number of children in your household. If you are called to testify in court about a dispute between your neighbors and lie about what you know in order to gain favor with a neighbor, you could be charged with the crime of perjury.
If you are convicted of perjury, you will could be sentenced to felony probation with up to one year of county jail, or up to four years in county jail. You could also be fined up to $10,000. However, there are a number of defenses to perjury charges that a skilled California criminal defense lawyer could use. For example, your attorney could argue that you made a mistake in your statement, and so you did not willfully make a false statement. Depending on the facts of your case, there may be other potential factual or legal defenses to the perjury charges that your California criminal defense attorney may consider.
If you have been charged with perjury, the Chambers Law Firm can help. Our team of attorneys is highly skilled at representing clients who have been charged with perjury and related charges. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com for a free initial consultation.
