FALSE TESTIMONY

Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a crime because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court, witness testimony must be relied on as being truthful. Perjury is considered a serious offense as it can be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice. In the United States, for example, the general perjury statute under Federal law provides for a prison sentence of up to five years, and is found at . See also .
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 Testimony is "false" if it was untrue when it was given and was then known to be untrue by the witness or person giving it. A statement contained within a document is false if it was untrue when used and was then known to be untrue by the person using it.

Testimony should be viewed in the context of the series of questions asked and answers given, and the words used should be given their common and ordinary meaning unless the context clearly shows that a different meaning was mutually understood by the questioner and the witness.

If a particular question was ambiguous or capable of being understood in two different ways, and that the person truthfully answered one reasonable interpretation of the question under the circumstances presented, then such answer would not be false. Similarly, if the question was clear but the answer was ambiguous, and one reasonable interpretation of the answer would be truthful, then the answer would not be false.