Perjury is defined as what?

• A. Purposefully lying in court after taking an oath.
• B. Telling the truth while under oath.
• C. Providing false physical evidence.
• D. Refusing to testify.

Answer: (A)

Perjury is the act of intentionally making a false statement while under oath in a legal proceeding. The crucial parts are the sworn oath and the intent to mislead about a material fact. It isn’t perjury to tell the truth under oath, and it isn’t about creating false physical evidence or simply refusing to testify—those involve different offenses. So lying on the stand after taking an oath, when the lie is deliberate and about something that could affect the case, is the definition of perjury.