720 ILCS 5/32-2 – Perjury
This law makes it a crime to lie under oath on purpose when the truth really matters.
This Illinois law says that lying under oath in court or any official setting on a matter that matters to the case is a crime called perjury. People who knowingly lie while sworn to tell the truth can be charged with a Class 3 felony.
(a) A person commits perjury when they are under oath or promise to tell the truth, and they knowingly say something false about an important issue in a court or legal matter where an oath is required.
(b) Proof of Falsity: If someone makes two different sworn statements that don’t match and both are important to the case, prosecutors don’t have to prove which one is false. They only need to show that the person made the contradictory statements knowingly under oath.
(c) Admission of Falsity: If a person admits during the same court trial that one of their conflicting statements is false, they cannot be charged with perjury for that false statement in that trial.
(d) Police officers are not guilty of perjury when they use a fake name as part of their job to catch criminals, as long as that use is properly approved in writing under certain laws. However, this rule does not apply if the officer is a witness in court and the judge orders them to reveal their real name because it is important to the case.
(e) Sentence: Perjury is a Class 3 felony.
Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP to talk with a Southern Illinois criminal defense lawyer.
