iriemade Skip to Content

7 Reasons Why Perjury is a Serious Offense

Perjury is the act of making false statements while under oath to tell the truth in a court setting. Perjury is a serious felony under that federal law carries with it a possible prison sentence for up to five years and a monetary penalty. The punishment for perjury can vary under state law, but the punishment will always be executed. Imagine landing in jail because of a mere lie. Here are seven reasons why perjury is a serious offense:

Serious Obstruction of Justice

Perjury is seen as a very serious obstruction of justice. The whole point of being asked to stand as a witness is to tell the truth. In fact, before you are interrogated on the witness stand, they ask you to make an oath to speak the truth. Lying so easily in court shows that you have to respect the laws. On top of that, this exhibits that you have no qualms about inflicting harm on the victims who are seeking justice. 

Seen as a Form of Contempt of Court

The court considers itself as the last bastion of seeking truth, justice, and peace. When you are asked to tell the whole truth in court, but you act the opposite way, then you are facing a serious contempt of court. You have disrespected an honorable and respectable Inquisition. Lying is akin to spitting on the face of this long-standing and venerable institution that has long maintained respect, dignity, and order within its esteemed walls. 

Playing Accessory to a Wrong Doing

Lying on behalf of someone, especially a criminal, shows that you are in cahoots with perpetuating a crime. You play an accessory to a wrong doing when you commit perjury because you are perfectly okay to keep the truth from coming out. On top of that, telling a lie so easily in front of respectable people like the judge, jury, court staff, and lawyers exhibit how disrespectful you are and how you so easily disregard the law. 

Comes with Serious Repercussions

Perjury is telling the court the wrong information. This type of false information has serious repercussions because it has the capacity to send the wrong people to jail. Imagine sending someone to life in prison because you lied on the witness stand. This is not something that the courts take lightly, so if you do get caught lying in court, call a reputable attorney, like CNG Criminal Lawyers, because you’re going to need all the help you can get to reduce your sentence.

Shows Lack of Morals

A person that lies clearly lacks morals. A person that can so easily lie in court in front of a judge and jury means that he or she has no qualms about committing a crime, too. This utter lack of conscience means a person is so easily predisposed into doing criminal behavior. Going behind prison walls for a serious offense like perjury is nipping this criminal vibes in the bud.

Exhibits Disregard for the Law

When you go to court, before stepping on the witness stand, they make you take an oath to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you, God. This alone shows the seriousness of what you’re about to do. Acting as a witness for someone has huge repercussions because it can make someone pay huge penalties or make someone do jail time. But easily breaking your own oath to the court exhibits your wanton disregard for the rule of law.

Wastes Valuable Time and Effort

Court proceedings are very expensive and time-consuming. It involves a lot of people from the judge, the court staff, the attorneys, the jury, etc. Lawyers work with billable hours. Each member of the jury takes time off from their work to attend the proceeding. On top of this, trials already generally take a long time to complete and with each second that goes by, more money is spent. Committing perjury means you delay the court proceedings; and thereby, you waste valuable time and effort given by all those people inside the courtroom who have a clear goal of seeking justice.

With all these proof presented, it is clear now why perjury is a serious offense that comes with grave consequences. Choosing to lie while under oath can land you in jail and give you a stellar criminal record. Now, ask yourself if lying is worth it. Be careful when you are called to court and be sure to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Otherwise, be prepared to bear the consequences.

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Pin It on Pinterest

Shares