2021 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 10 - Offenses Against Public Administration
Article 4 - Perjury and Related Offenses
§ 16-10-70. Perjury
- A person to whom a lawful oath or affirmation has been administered commits the offense of perjury when, in a judicial proceeding, he knowingly and willfully makes a false statement material to the issue or point in question.
- A person convicted of the offense of perjury shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years, or both. A person convicted of the offense of perjury that was a cause of another's being imprisoned shall be sentenced to a term not to exceed the sentence provided for the crime for which the other person was convicted. A person convicted of the offense of perjury that was a cause of another's being punished by death shall be punished by life imprisonment.
(Laws 1833, Cobb's 1851 Digest, pp. 804, 805; Code 1863, §§ 4355, 4356, 4363; Code 1868, §§ 4393, 4394, 4401; Code 1873, §§ 4460, 4461, 4468; Code 1882, §§ 4460, 4461, 4468; Penal Code 1895, §§ 256, 257, 262; Penal Code 1910, §§ 259, 260, 265; Ga. L. 1933, p. 40, § 1; Code 1933, §§ 26-4001, 26-4002, 26-4007; Code 1933, § 26-2401, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 159, § 2.)
Cross references.- Vacation of judgments, verdicts, rules, or orders obtained through perjury, § 17-1-4.
False statements under oath to Commissioner of Labor, § 34-2-13.
JUDICIAL DECISIONSANALYSIS
- General Consideration
- Oath
- Judicial Proceeding
- Intent
- Materiality
- Indictment
- Application
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 60A Am. Jur. 2d, Perjury, § 1 et seq.
C.J.S.- 70 C.J.S., Perjury, § 1 et seq.
ALR.
- Assignment of perjury on affidavit for continuance, 1 A.L.R. 1138.
False statement made under fear or compulsion as perjury, 4 A.L.R. 1319.
May conviction of perjury rest on circumstantial evidence, 15 A.L.R. 634; 27 A.L.R. 857; 42 A.L.R. 1063; 88 A.L.R.2d 852.
Fraud or perjury as to physical condition resulting from injury as ground for relief from or injunction against a judgment for personal injuries, 16 A.L.R. 397.
Rule against conviction of perjury upon contradictory statements as affected by defendant's admission in second statement, 25 A.L.R. 416.
Perjury as predicated upon statements upon application for marriage license, 101 A.L.R. 1263.
Corroboration by circumstantial evidence of testimony of single witness in prosecution for perjury, 111 A.L.R. 825.
Former jeopardy as regards successive prosecutions for perjury charged to have been committed in the same action or proceeding, 120 A.L.R. 1171.
Necessity and sufficiency of proof, in prosecution for perjury during trial, that oath was administered, 132 A.L.R. 1311.
Right of defendant in prosecution for perjury to have the "two witnesses, or one witness and corroborating circumstances," rule included in charge to jury, 156 A.L.R. 499.
Imputation of perjury or false swearing as actionable per se, 38 A.L.R.2d 161.
Recantation as defense in perjury prosecution, 64 A.L.R.2d 276.
Statement of belief or opinion as perjury, 66 A.L.R.2d 791.
Conviction of perjury where one or more of elements is established solely by circumstantial evidence, 88 A.L.R.2d 852.
Perjury or false swearing as contempt, 89 A.L.R.2d 1258.
Invalidity of statute or ordinance giving rise to proceeding in which false testimony was received as defense to prosecution for perjury, 34 A.L.R.3d 413.
Offense of perjury as affected by lack of jurisdiction by court or governmental body before which false testimony was given, 36 A.L.R.3d 1038.
Rights and duties of attorney in a criminal prosecution where client informs him of intention to present perjured testimony, 64 A.L.R.3d 385.
Incomplete, misleading, or unresponsive but literally true statement as perjury, 69 A.L.R.3d 993.
Acquittal as bar to prosecution of accused for perjury committed at trial, 89 A.L.R.3d 1098.
Admonitions against perjury or threats to prosecute potential defense witness, inducing refusal to testify, as prejudicial error, 88 A.L.R.4th 388.
Right of defendant in prosecution for perjury to have the "two witnesses, or one witness and corroborating circumstances," rule included in charge to jury - state cases, 41 A.L.R.5th 1.
What amounts to habitual intemperance, drunkenness, excessive drug use, and the like within statute relating to substantive grounds for divorce, 101 A.L.R.6th 455.
