Criminal Attorney: What Is The Penalty For Perjury?

by | Jan 2, 2014 | Lawyers

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Perjury is defined as making false statements while you are under oath. These are usually statements that are going to effect the investigation in a positive or negative way. Any Criminal Attorney will tell you that it is impossible to state the exact penalty for perjury because it varies pretty greatly depending on the crime and your location. Furthermore, there are some courts that do not even prosecute individuals who commit perjury. However, it is important to keep in mind that you could end up with high fines and jail time.

The most common punishment for perjury is to receive a fine and/or some jail time. The amount of the fine and the jail time varies depending on your jurisdiction and the crime. You could do as little as one year in jail or you could do as much as ten years in jail. Your punishment can be more severe if you have a record of committing perjury.

Another type of perjury is called a suborning perjury. This is defined as when a client gives a false statement about a case that a lawyer knows is not true. It is a serious crime because the Criminal Attorney is not allowed to permit this to happen. A lawyer can actually face criminal charges if their client commits perjury and they knew about it. This is why your lawyer will request you to disclose as little information as possible. While the best option is for you not to give a false statement, you are going to make the situation a lot worse by disclosing the fact that you are not telling the truth to your lawyer beforehand.