NCJ Number
223459
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2008 Pages: 799-824
Date Published
2008
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the elements of the offense of perjury in 18 U.S. Code sections 1621, 1622, and 1623, followed by an examination of the defenses that might be mounted against perjury charges and the U.S. sentencing guidelines that apply to perjury.
Abstract
Section 1621 applies to all material statements or information provided under oath to "a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered." Section 1623 is designed to "facilitate perjury prosecutions and thereby enhance the reliability of testimony before Federal courts and grand juries." The scope of this section is limited to testimony actually submitted in the presence of the court or grand jury or in the course of a deposition pursuant to valid rules of procedures. Section 1622 prohibits convincing another person to commit "any perjury" (subornation of perjury), whether under the requirements of section 1621 or section 1623. In order to be convicted of subornation of perjury, the defendant must have persuaded a witness to perjure himself/herself, and that witness must have actually committed perjury. Section 1622 only requires that the defendant know the testimony by the witness will be false. In order to secure a conviction for perjury and subornation of perjury, the prosecution must prove that the defendant took an oath authorized by a law of the United States and while under such oath, willfully and knowingly made a false statement as to material facts. Defenses to perjury examined in this article are recantation of the testimony, assistance of counsel, double jeopardy, the "perjury trap," and the fifth amendment against self-incrimination. The discussion of the U.S. sentencing guidelines that apply to perjury focuses on the circumstances of the perjury associated with the three levels of sentence enhancement. 170 notes