Many of the judicial processes that occur on the state and local level in Lake Mary rely on the truthfulness of participants. Official documents that you present to the government, as well as information that you provide while under oath, hold you to this standard. A knowing failure to provide truthful and accurate information is a criminal offense.
Allegations involving perjury are serious matters, and they can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, where a conviction can result in a lengthy prison sentence. Even more severe are allegations that a person has lied under oath during a criminal trial that alleged a felony. Proving perjury is a complex matter, and people facing these charges have many potential avenues for defense.
A Lake Mary perjury lawyer could help you whether you are facing a perjury charge on its own or allegations connected to another offense. Our skilled defense attorneys evaluate the truthfulness of your statement and develop defenses that could help to defeat these serious charges.
The government relies on truthful statements for many situations, such as when people apply for a loan, disclose their income on a tax return, or during trials in courtrooms. In each of these cases, a party either signs a document stating that the information that they are providing is true and accurate, or takes an oath or affirmation before a judge. These oaths and signatures are a person’s guarantee that the information that they are providing is truthful to the best of their knowledge.
The truthfulness of this information is so important that knowingly providing false information is a crime. According to Florida Statute § 837.012, perjury when not in an official proceeding occurs when a person provides a false statement that they do not believe to be true. Under the statute, this offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree punishable by no more than one year in jail.
By contrast, events involving a supposedly false statement during an official proceeding are even more potentially harmful. Under Fla. Stat. § 837.02, making a false statement while under oath in an official proceeding is a felony of the third degree. This means that convictions can bring a prison sentence of as long as five years. The most severe examples involve false statements during a trial for a capital felony where the charge upgrades to a felony of the second degree.
A Lake Mary perjury attorney could help people better understand the legal concept of perjury and the possible consequences.
Prosecutors often have a difficult time proving allegations of perjury. This is because the statute requires an individual to knowingly and intentionally provide false information. Demonstrating a person’s mindset beyond a reasonable doubt is especially complicated during a criminal trial.
As a result, a perjury lawyer in Lake Mary could raise defenses that dispute a defendant’s state of mind during the alleged event. Perhaps the simplest way to accomplish this is to argue that a defendant made an honest mistake. People may not realize that what they are saying is false. It could also be possible to introduce evidence that a defendant did not intend to mislead a government body. Each case is unique but a perjury lawyer could help choose the defense that is right for a specific circumstance.
Allegations involving perjury are not something to take lightly. These charges can end up being a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the setting and situation of the statement. Still, a prosecutor must prove that you provided false information to the government and that you knew it was false at the time that you provided it.
Reach out to a Lake Mary perjury lawyer now and let The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys get to work for you.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
