Thank you for asking me “What is Perjury in FL? ”
Perjury is loosely defined as “lying under oath”, but there is much more to it than that.
To be convicted of perjury in FL the State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you 1) Took an oath to tell the truth, 2) that the oath was given by someone with authority to do so in an official capacity, 3) that while under oath you made a false statement and 4) that at that time that you made the false statement you knew that the statement was untrue.
The kicker with perjury is that the false statement which is knowingly made while under oath must be “material”, and materiality is defined as “having the potential to effect a pending issue”. So, for perjury, lying under oath isn’t enough. The lie must relate to a material matter in the proceedings.
You may have noticed that “materiality” is not one of the 4 elements that the State must prove. This is because the issue of materiality has to be determined by a Judge beforehand, as a condition precedent to a perjury prosecution, so if a Judge decides that the false statement in question did not relate to a material matter in the proceeding, then a perjury charge will be dismissed.
Perjury in an unofficial proceeding is a 1st degree misdemeanor (punishable by up to 364 days in jail) but if the perjury occurs during an official proceeding (such as before any legislative, judicial, administrative or other governmental agency or official) then it is a 3rd degree felony (punishable by up to 5 years in prison).
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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