Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If a person in responding to a Complaint submits fabricated documents & also makes false statements that can be proven as false, under penalty of perjury. Can that person be prosecuted for perjury.


Asked on 7/03/12, 8:19 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

Perjury prosecutions are rare. They are often hard to prove. In California, the District Attorney has the discretion to make decisions on whether or not to file charges in a criminal matter. Those charges are not filed by private parties. If you think you have good evidence of perjury, then that should be submitted to law enforcement. On the other hand, you should make sure that in a civil action, you are actively involved in proving that the evidence against you is false.

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Answered on 7/03/12, 11:10 am
Theresa Hofmeister Theresa Hofmeister, Attorney At Law

I agree with Mr Roach, and while I'm not as familiar with civil procedure as with criminal ... unless it is a verified complaint or verified discovery requests, there is no statement under oath ... so I assume you are referring to a declaration/affidavit submitted by the other party. As Mr Roach said, your stop would be law enforcement unless the Judge in the case (convinced it is false) reports it him/herself ... all sounds a bit unlikely. Good luck!

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Answered on 7/03/12, 11:52 am


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