'Cause if I was the defense lawyer, I'd certainly object!
2007-04-19 09:46:52 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The prosecution can easily back the defendant into a corner, forcing the defendant to perjure himself. Perjury is a crime in itself.
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 18 U.S.C. § 1621. See also 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
It happens all the time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perjury
Perhaps the most notable case of perjury was that of President Bill Clinton with regards to his behaviour with a certain intern. He was found to be lying when he stated that he had "no sexual relations with that girl."
As a result, Clinton was fined for contempt of court, agreed to be disbarred, and was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998. The Senate rejected the perjury with 55 not-guilty votes and 45 guilty votes. No criminal charges were ever brought.
2007-04-19 09:53:47 · answer #1 · answered by $Sun King$ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The prosecutor must submit a witness list to the defense counsel prior to opening statements. If the defense counsel has the defendant or the defendant's spouse on the witness list, the defense counsel will immediately file a motion to remove them from the list. The fifth amendment states that no one shall be coerced to bear witness against him or herself. The spouse of the defendant can't be coerced to testify against the defendant due to spousal privilege.
2007-04-19 16:57:06 · answer #2 · answered by nixdad96 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
only if your stupid enough to get on the stand, most defense attorneys would not allow that to happen because of that reason
2007-04-25 13:20:29 · answer #3 · answered by m c 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
one your not a lawyer so stay out of law
2007-04-27 02:08:42 · answer #4 · answered by popeyex44 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 5th amendment protects you from that.
2007-04-19 16:49:38 · answer #5 · answered by Alan S 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
no
2007-04-19 17:03:12 · answer #6 · answered by ·will¹ªm ºn vacation! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋