Chapter 20 Offenses Against Public Justice

• Library: SC Crimes: Elements and Defenses (SCBar) (2021 Ed.)

Chapter 20 Offenses Against Public Justice

A. Perjury and subornation of perjury; S.C. Code Ann. § 16-9-10

(A)(1) It is unlawful for a person to wilfully give false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath in any court of record, judicial, administrative, or regulatory proceeding in this State.

(2) It is unlawful for a person to wilfully give false, misleading, or incomplete information on a document, record, report, or form required by the laws of this State.

(B)(1) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (A)(1) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(2) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (A)(2) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not less than one hundred dollars, or both.

(C) A person may be convicted under this section if he induces, procures, or persuades another person to commit perjury or if he commits perjury by his own act, consent, or agreement.

1. Elements Defined

South Carolina's perjury statute "is directed not so much at the effects of the perjurious statement, but rather at its perpetration and the 'probable wrong done the administration of justice by false testimony.'" State v. Harrison, 854 S.E.2d 468, 469 (S.C. 2021) (citations omitted).

To be perjury, the false swearing must "relate to some fact material to the issue and must be made in a judicial proceeding before one lawfully authorized to administer oaths." McAninch, Fairey, and Coggiola, THE CRIMINAL LAW OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 536 (6^th ed. 2013) (hereafter, McAninch, Fairey, and Coggiola (2013)). "It is not necessary, however, for the matter falsely sworn to be directly material to the ultimate issue of the case." Id.

"Giving false information in a document or report required by law is perjury;" false statements given in a police report are prohibited under the statute. State v. Stanley, 615 S.E.2d 455, 461 (S.C. Ct. App. 2005).

The defendant must have intended that his sworn statement was false. Thus, if the defendant "had a mistaken belief as to his original testimony, he could present the defense of mistake of fact." McAninch, Fairey, and Coggiola, 537 (2013). However, this is not an affirmative defense; the State bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that there was no mistake. Id.

B. Subornation of perjury in civil actions; S.C. Code Ann. § 16-9-20

(A) It is unlawful

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