Thank you for asking me “Are there any defenses to a Perjury charge?”
Yes. Apart from the standard defenses that are available in all cases there are at least two defenses which are custom tailored to a perjury charge.
The first is that the false statement which was knowingly made while under oath was not “material”. Materiality is a defense to perjury as, before a perjury charge can go to a jury the issue of materiality must necessarily first be established and accepted by the Court.
“Materiality” is defined as “having the potential to effect a pending issue”, so for perjury, simply lying under oath isn’t enough. The lie must relate to a matter that is material to the proceedings. If your lawyer can convince the Judge that the false statement did not relate to a material matter in the proceedings, then the perjury charge must be dismissed.
The second defense to a perjury charge is known as “recantation” or “renunciation”. Recantation occurs where the person who made the false statement afterward, but during the same continuous proceeding, admits that the statement was in fact false. In order to qualify as a renunciation it must be established that 1) the retraction occurred both promptly and voluntarily, 2) that there was no profit from the falsehood, 3) that no one was prejudiced by the false statement, 4) that the proceedings themselves were not prejudiced and 5) that any subsequent testimony is consistent with the recanted testimony.
Incidentally, there is no such crime as “attempted perjury” in FL.
At Michael A. Haber, PA “it’s all about reasonable doubt”!
Please note that no attorney-client relationship with either Michael A. Haber, PA or Michael A. Haber, Esq. exists as a result of your watching this Webisode series. Further any and all information which is both contained in and may be construed from this Webisode series is generic in nature and should only be considered as informational and not as actual legal advise in any specific case. Should you wish to seek actual legal advise then please feel free to contact Michael A. Haber, Esq. as follows:
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