{ "id": "98-808", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "98-808", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584675, "date": "2018-05-11", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T21:26:52.219946", "title": "False Statements and Perjury: An Overview of Federal Criminal Law", "summary": "Federal courts, Congress, and federal agencies rely upon truthful information in order to make informed decisions. Federal law therefore proscribes providing the federal courts, Congress, or federal agencies with false information. The prohibition takes four forms: false statements; perjury in judicial proceedings; perjury in other contexts; and subornation of perjury.\nSection 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, the general false statement statute, outlaws material false statements in matters within the jurisdiction of a federal agency or department. It reaches false statements in federal court and grand jury sessions as well as congressional hearings and administrative matters but not the statements of advocates or parties in court proceedings. Under Section 1001, a statement is a crime if it is false, regardless of whether it is made under oath.\nIn contrast, an oath is the hallmark of the three perjury statutes in Title 18. The oldest, Section 1621, condemns presenting material false statements under oath in federal official proceedings. Section 1623 of the same title prohibits presenting material false statements under oath in federal court proceedings, although it lacks some of Section 1621\u2019s traditional procedural features, such as a two-witness requirement. Subornation of perjury, barred in Section 1622, consists of inducing another to commit perjury. All four sections carry a penalty of imprisonment for not more than five years, although Section 1001 is punishable by imprisonment for not more than eight years when the offense involves terrorism or one of the various federal sex offenses. The same five-year maximum penalty attends the separate crime of conspiracy to commit any of the four substantive offenses.\nA defendant\u2019s false statements in the course of a federal criminal investigation or prosecution may also result in an enhanced sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for the offense that was the subject of the investigation or prosecution.\nThis report is available in abbreviated form\u2014without footnotes, quotations, or citations\u2014as CRS Report 98-807, False Statements and Perjury: A Sketch of Federal Criminal Law.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/98-808", "sha1": "5859b3c7ed7b45fe400c6bda9887ec8f3f480fc4", "filename": "files/20180511_98-808_5859b3c7ed7b45fe400c6bda9887ec8f3f480fc4.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-808", "sha1": "f51bda0e0f334b366e810596721d3cc576d610d1", "filename": "files/20180511_98-808_f51bda0e0f334b366e810596721d3cc576d610d1.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4850, "name": "Criminal Justice" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 427652, "date": "2014-01-28", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:42:02.548983", "title": "Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview", "summary": "Although it now covers more than court proceedings, the definition of perjury has not changed a great deal otherwise since the framing of the Constitution. Blackstone described it as \u201ca crime committed when a lawful oath is administered, in some judicial proceeding, to a person who swears wilfully, absolutely and falsely, in a matter material to the issue or point in question.\u201d\nThere are three general federal perjury laws. One, 18 U.S.C. 1621, outlaws presenting material false statements under oath in federal official proceedings. A second, 18 U.S.C. 1623, bars presenting material false statements under oath before or ancillary to federal court or grand jury proceedings. A third, 18 U.S.C. 1622 (subornation of perjury), prohibits inducing or procuring another to commit perjury in violation of either Section 1621 or Section 1623.\nIn most cases, the courts abbreviate their description of the elements and state that to prove perjury in a judicial context under Section 1623 the government must establish that the defendant \u201c(1) knowingly made a (2) false (3) material declaration (4) under oath (5) in a proceeding before or ancillary to any court or grand jury of the United States.\u201d\nIn a similar manner, the courts generally favor the encapsulation from United States v. Dunnigan to describe the elements of perjury in other contexts under Section 1621: \u201cA witness testifying under oath or affirmation violates this section if she gives false testimony concerning a material matter with the willful intent to provide false testimony, rather than as a result of confusion, mistake, or faulty memory.\u201d\nSection 1622 outlaws procuring or inducing another to commit perjury: \u201cWhoever procures another to commit any perjury is guilty of subornation of perjury, and shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both,\u201d 18 U.S.C. 1622.\nThe false statement statute, 18 U.S.C. 1001, is closely akin to the perjury statutes. It outlaws false statements in any matter within the jurisdiction of a federal agency or department, a kind of perjury not under oath.\nMoreover, regardless of the offense for which an individual is convicted, the federal sentencing guidelines may call for his sentence to be enhanced as a consequence of any obstruction of justice in the form of perjury or false statements for which he is responsible, if committed during the course of the investigation, prosecution, or sentencing for the offense of his conviction. The enhancement may result in an increase in his term of imprisonment by as much as four years. \nThis report is available in abbreviated form\u2014without footnotes, quotations, or citations\u2014as CRS Report 98-807, Perjury Under Federal Law: A Sketch of the Elements. Both versions have been largely excerpted from CRS Report RL34303, Obstruction of Justice: An Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes That Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities. Excerpted portions of RL34303 are also available as follows. CRS Report RS22783, Obstruction of Justice: An Abridged Overview of Related Federal Criminal Laws; CRS Report RL34304, Obstruction of Congress: A Brief Overview of Federal Law Relating to Interference with Congressional Activities; and CRS Report RS22784, Obstruction of Congress: An Abridged Overview of Federal Criminal Laws Relating to Interference with Congressional Activities. All are by Charles Doyle.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/98-808", "sha1": "a934d109a987aadf311b3785c7991ab92ef31451", "filename": "files/20140128_98-808_a934d109a987aadf311b3785c7991ab92ef31451.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-808", "sha1": "2d01624a45dff07869deb6d8e4fca20d41a7c7ab", "filename": "files/20140128_98-808_2d01624a45dff07869deb6d8e4fca20d41a7c7ab.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc29557/", "id": "98-808_2010Nov05", "date": "2010-11-05", "retrieved": "2010-12-04T14:26:25", "title": "Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview", "summary": "This report describes perjury under federal law, including a definition as well as in-depth explorations of the three general federal perjury laws. This report is available in abbreviated form - without footnotes, quotations, or citations - as CRS Report 98-807, Perjury Under Federal Law: A Sketch of the Elements.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20101105_98-808_541f73a3d16987d87b0e5fea49bbbaa94d40e94d.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20101105_98-808_541f73a3d16987d87b0e5fea49bbbaa94d40e94d.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Law", "name": "Law" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Perjury", "name": "Perjury" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc815276/", "id": "98-808_2007Dec27", "date": "2007-12-27", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20071227_98-808_cca8f4a867c43b649e3730850cd69f72549bc7d5.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20071227_98-808_cca8f4a867c43b649e3730850cd69f72549bc7d5.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law" ] }