Perjury the Rule of Law Is Important

Perjury

The rule of law is important in setting boundaries and guidelines for citizens to follow. Investigation of laws is important because there are thousands of laws that apply to people whether they are aware of them or not. The purpose of this essay is to examine perjury as a rule of law and discuss the important aspects of its characteristics. To do this, this essay will first look at the defining principles of perjury before examining a real world case in which this law was violated.

Trials are examinations of citizens on whether or not they have violated any laws. This system works well if the testimony of the important parties during the trial is truthful and hones. During a trial, all participating witnesses are required to swear an oath before explaining their situation through testimony. Testimony is a very important aspect of any criminal or civil case.

After a person swears an oath, he assumes to promise to provide the court with the truth and factual information. If this person is dishonest and shades the truth with dishonesty and lies while under oath, this person has committed the crime of perjury.

The information and discussion that is given by witnesses may often offer juries with the necessary information to determine the end result of a case. It is therefore extremely important that these testimonies be accurate and based in truth and fact. People on trial may have the option to testify in his own trial. This person many be interrogated and asked questions about the specific involvement in the offense. Providing false answers to these questions is punishable under the law.

On most occasions, perjury occurs when an individual lies about information that is pertinent to a case while he/she is under oath. Perjury is limited to the facts that affect the results of a trial. Therefore, it is not illegal for an individual to provide false information about him/herself, such as his/her age, unless this information directly affects a case. Each jurisdiction has its own rules on the punishment for perjury and they vary in intensity and scope. Federal law has its own penalty for punishment. The United State Code explains that "wherever, under any law of the United States or under any rule, regulation, order, or requirement made pursuant to law, any matter is required or permitted to be supported, evidenced, established, or proved by the sworn declaration, verification, certificate, statement, oath, or affidavit, in writing of the person making the same (other than a deposition, or an oath of office, or an oath required to be taken before a specified official other than a notary public), such matter may, with like force and effect, be supported, evidenced, established, or proved by the unsworn declaration, certificate, verification, or statement, in writing of such person which is subscribed by him."

Perjury is not as serious as murder or rape and the punishments usually reflect this idea. The most common penalty for perjury is jail or fine but these parameters are set by judicial discretion. It's possible for there to be a minimum sentence length as a penalty for perjury, perhaps one year, and a maximum length of sentencing at five to 10 years per charge. If the person has committed more than one act of perjury, as by making numerous false statements under oath, he or she could be charged with multiple offenses and that could increase total fines charged or jail time. Lies and falsehoods that are told under oath are only punishable if they have relevance to the case. White lies are not considered perjury in most cases.

Khouri, (2012) reported on a perjury case in Los Angeles that implicated two city police officers Evan Samuel and Richard Amino. According to the report, " the trial revolved around competing interpretations of a grainy, black and white video that the prosecution argued sharply contradicted sworn testimony from three officers regarding the discovery of cocaine. " In this case video evidence was used to contradict and ultimately seal the fate of these police officers demonstrating the power of conflicting testimony and truthful expression.