can a D/A threaten my child with perjury when her witness statement differs from the one she gave 7 months ago

Question

she was interviwed at school(16 at the time) and told what everyone else had said concerning a fight which resulted in a serious injury and charges agnst two males of attmpted murder and felony assault.she was there at the party (not at school) no one told her she did not have to talk to the detective and now the D/A wants her to testify because he says her stories don't match(Dad was with her for the pretrail interview) and she may be under possible penalty of perjury. If he is using her prior statment taken under duress in the principals office without rights or parent consent, should she take the 5th on the stand to avoid any possibleappearance of perjury-she was not under oath at school or at the hearing however why risk the chance that the D/A doesn't like what he hears now?

Answer 1

If she signed a statement given to the police, that can be trouble if her statement differs on the stand.
1. Hire a lawyer for your daughter.
2. Allow no communication between your family and the D/A's office, the police, and the principal except through your lawyer.
3. Make it clear to your daughter not to talk about her statements with ANYONE unless told to do so by her lawyer.

If she participated in a pretrial interview, that means the D/A's office thought they could use her to help obtain a guilty verdict against the accused. When her pretrial interview did not match her prior interview(did not contain the information deemed valuable by the D/A's office) that put the state's case in jeopardy. If they lose the case, your daughter better already have a lawyer apprised of the situation and be ready to earn his retainer.

Answer 2

Sound like you have already made up your mind.

Yes, the District Attorney can tell your daughter that she can be charged with perjury.

What's more, your daughter can be declared an adult for such purposes.

The fact that the first statement was taken without parental consent does not make it under duress. The fact that she was not told that she did not have to talk to the policeman does not make it coerced. The fact is she made a statement. She apparently made a subsequent statement to the district attorney which I am pressuming materially differed from the first statement.

I don't imagine that she will be tried for perjury, but, there is nothing illegal or false in the statement that she can be held for perjury on the matter.

As for taking the fifth. That doesn't work in a hearing. She will have to anwer the questions of the grand jury and if she doesn't she could be found in contempt. And, her grand jury testimony can be used to substantiate a charge of perjury, so she doesn't have to go to trial to get charged for that.

At any rate, I am wondering who signed this statement she supposedly made to the police officer. Normally, the person testifying has to sign their statement to the police. Did she? If she did then she appears to have attested to her statement being truthful. If she did the same thing in front of the district attorney then you have a problem.

If they can prove that she can tell the difference between right and wrong, they can charge her.

Taking the fifth at this late date does nothing. The minute she anwered her first question to the district attorney she waived that right. And as you say, her father was present at that questioning.

The point is that they want her to substantiate her first statement. If she does not then they will look bad for making their arrests. They don't want to look bad and they don't want to let a guilty person go free. It makes it harder to convict them later. Your daughter is apparently a material witness in a felony trial. They take that very seriously.

Like I said, I don't expect them to make an example out of her but they are well within their rights, the law, and their mandate as prosecutors to use every means within auspices to bring the truth to this jury.

BTW, they can authenticate her police statement without her. Another reason they are telling your daughter about perjury is that the prosecutor will seek to intoduce the first statement. The defense will seek to introduce the second statement. The judge most likely will admit both statements and your daughter having not taken the stand will have contradicted herself. They were hoping she would clarify the matter. If she won't and they lose the case, you can see how that might upset them. Not to mention, I can't see the judge not issuing a bench warrant to compell your daughter to appear before the matter goes to the jury without knowing which statement she says is the truth. Judges don't like to see these grey areas go unchallenged.

In other words, you are fighting a losing battle. You can pay a lawyer to tell you this, but, you should have done that before she went to the district attorney's office the first time. Now all they can do is advise you to tell the truth.

Answer 3

Well, if she is 16 officers probably thought she was willing to talk if she didn't let them know that she did not wish to make a statement. An officer doesn' t have to tell someone, that they dont have to talk to them. As for a parent being present, they wouldn't have to advise her of Miranda Warnings or call a parent, because she is not saying anything that would incriminate of implicate her in a crime.
Since she provided a statement to officers, the DA can issue a subpoena to have her appear and testify in court. If your daughter decides she doens't want to go, it's the DA's decision on whether they want to pursue charges against her for not testifying.
On top of all that, if she was in fact lying which is why they would consider prosecuting for perjury, pleading the 5th is only going to make her look guilty, thats not a good idea. And, if she doesn't answer questions, the DA can treat her as a "hostile witness" and ask her yes and no questions that the Judge can order her to answer, or be found in contempt.
As for the commnt of claiming your daughters statement was obtained while she was under duress, that wont hold up. The first thing they will ask is whether she said she didn't want to speak with them, if she tried to leave, etc. If they ask her questions, and she answered, that isn't going to hold up.
The DA wont seek charges of perjury against her for not liking her statement, just if he thinks your daughters statement has changed so much that he believes she is lying.
Hope this helped.

Answer 4

Ordinarily perjury involves giving false information while under oath. As you stated your child wasn't under oath. Taking the 5th is specific to incriminating ones self while giving testimony. Is your child a potential suspect? If she is merely a witness then there is considerable research information about witness perceptions changing over time. The courts ordinarily take this into account. The bottom line is if she is compelled as a witness she must answer honestly regardless of what she has said in the past. She cannot take the 5th simply to avoid answering questions that she feels uncomfortable with.

Answer 5

She should refuse all further contact without a lawyer present. They have threatened her with criminal prosecution -- use that against her. Forgetting something is never a crime. Perjury implies deliberate deception.

On her own, she is likely to be bullied by the police and forced to say what they want her to say. With a lawyer there, it's different.

I assume Dad is not a lawyer, and he perhaps didn't help her situation.

Answer 6

Don't worry. The DA is trying to intimidate you. If you don't have a lawyer and can get one -- do it. Otherwise, refuse all future discussions. It is a very frightening experience, but just refuse to cooperate. Do not let him/her scare you. They are more concerned about getting a conviction than about what they are doing to you.

Answer 7

You really need an attorney to advise you on this.

Answer 8

You should talk to a lawyer about this.