2C:28-1. Perjury
a. Offense defined. A person is guilty of perjury, a
crime of the third degree, if in any official proceeding he makes a
false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation, or swears or
affirms the truth of a statement previously made, when the statement is
material and he does not believe it to be true.
b. Materiality. Falsification is material, regardless of the
admissibility of the statement under rules of evidence, if it could have
affected the course or outcome of the proceeding or the disposition of
the matter. It is no defense that the declarant mistakenly believed the
falsification to be immaterial. Whether a falsification is material is a
question of law.
c. Irregularities no defense. It is not a defense to prosecution under
this section that the oath or affirmation was administered or taken in
an irregular manner. A document purporting to be made upon oath or
affirmation at any time when the actor presents it as being so verified
shall be deemed to have been duly sworn or affirmed.
d. Retraction. It is an affirmative defense under this section that the
actor retracted the falsification in the course of the proceeding or
matter in which it was made prior to the termination of the proceeding
or matter without having caused irreparable harm to any party.
e. Corroboration. No person shall be convicted of an offense under this
section where proof of falsity rests solely upon contradiction by
testimony of a single person other than the defendant.
L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:28-1, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by L.1979, c. 178, s. 54, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.
