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Lying in Court

NYC Housing Court Practice/Procedures

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Lying in Court

Postby concord » Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:39 am

As a general question, if I (the respondent) can demonstrate during trial that the petitioner has made an intentionally false statement [told a lie] while under oath is there any penalty that I can request or demand that the court impose upon the petitioner for doing so?

Or is this just wishful thinking on my part and would a judge typically say to me “OK buddy, you made your point; move on to the next point of reference now and let’s get this trial over with”?

While I ask this question as it would concern L&T Court I suppose that, it would probably apply equally across the board in all court venues.

I ask it because, I was in a Small Claims trial a few years ago and when I accused the petitioner of ‘lying under oath’ the judge snapped at me and uttered “you can’t use the word LIE”. I didn’t question the judge though I suppose that I should have.

Why is ‘lie’ such a dirty word?
concord
 
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Joined: Mon May 26, 2008 3:40 pm

Lie?

Postby Emeraldstar » Tue Apr 14, 2009 9:47 pm

Hi All
While I'm no legal expert, I'm thinking maybe it falls under defamation of charecter? It may be appropriate to say the facts are distorted rather than the fabricator? Just my view :wink:
Emeraldstar
 
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Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:01 am

Postby Sky » Mon May 04, 2009 12:06 am

Concord,
One thing you can do, is if you prove that the individual has made false statements under oath, you can than use that instance of false testimony to throw doubt upon the individual's overall credibility.

If you believe you that the individual will need to lie in order to cover up certain facts that would reflect poorly on him and you have evidence that will prove the individual's testimony is false...you can set them up by introducing a specific line of questioning and let them walk into the trap....and lie in their answer. If the judge is hinting that he is going to disallow your line of questioning, perhaps you can say you are asking the question because it addresses the individual's credibility.

Score with several of these instances and I think it would go a long way towards convincing he court that they have a liar in their midst.
Sky
 


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