PROSECUTORIAL SUBORNING PERJURY

Prosecutorial Suborning Perjury



Prosecutorial Suborning Perjury

Truthful testimony is essential to the administration of justice and the functional capacity of every branch of government. Because every branch and level of government relies upon sworn testimony, the integrity of governmental processes depends in large part on the truthfulness of statements made under oath. In an effort to free courts of the "pollution of perjury," by deterring and punishing false testimony, Congress enacted 18 U.S.C. [section] 1621, [section] 1622, and [section] 1623.

A. Section 1621: False Testimony Generally

Section 1621, the broadest of the three federal perjury statutes, applies to all material statements or information provided under oath to "a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered." Section 1621 has withstood constitutional challenges for vagueness, and been applied in a variety of situations that fall under the broad purview of the statute.

Defendants have successfully argued in some cases that the oath they took was not "before a competent tribunal, officer or person." Courts have construed this phrase broadly and have applied [section] 1621 in a broad range of situations, with limitations existing as to what constitutes an "incompetent" tribunal, officer, or person. A grand jury acting within its jurisdiction is a competent tribunal for purposes of [section] 1621, but one that has exceeded its term or has undertaken an investigation outside its powers is not. Similarly, a Congressional committee will be regarded as a competent tribunal, unless it acts outside of a legitimate legislative purpose or if it lacks a quorum. However, the competency of a tribunal is not compromised for purposes of [section] 1621 because it lacks diversity or subject matter jurisdiction. Nor is a tribunal incompetent because the statutory offense that formed the basis of the proceeding was imperfectly pleaded, based on a defective indictment, or later found to be unconstitutional.

B. Section 1623: False Testimony to Court or Grand Jury

Congress enacted [section] 162322 to "facilitate perjury prosecutions and thereby enhance the reliability of testimony before federal courts and grand juries." The statute is operative only with regard to statements or information provided under oath "in any proceeding before or ancillary to any court or grand jury of the United States." This language limits the operation of the statute to testimony actually submitted in the presence of the court or grand jury or in the course of a deposition pursuant to valid rules of procedure. The statute applies without restriction to the broad range of proceedings that fall within this category. Additionally, federal courts have upheld the constitutionality of [section] 1623, even though some of its provisions depart from the common law rules regarding perjury prosecutions.

C. Section 1622: Subornation of Perjury

Section 1622 prohibits convincing another to commit "any perjury," whether under the requirements of [section] 1621 or [section] 1623, though the elements the government must prove will correlate with whether [section] 1621 or [section] 1623 underlies the [section] 1622 ...