New Jersey Criminal Laws

2C:28-2.     False Swearing.

a. False swearing. A person who makes a false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation, or swears or affirms the truth of such a statement previously made, when he does not believe the statement to be true, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

b. Perjury provisions applicable. Subsections c. and d. of section 2C:28-1 apply to the present section.

c. Inconsistent statements. Where the defendant made inconsistent statements under oath or equivalent affirmation, both having been made within the period of the statute of limitations, the prosecution may proceed by setting forth the inconsistent statements in a single count alleging in the alternative that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant. In such case it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to prove which statement was false but only that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant to be true.

L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:28-2, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by L.1979, c. 178, s. 55, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.

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