Ala. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) 13A-10-103

Perjury III

The defendant is charged with perjury in the third degree.

A person commits the crime of perjury in the third degree if he/she swears falsely.

To convict, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following

elements:

(1) The defendant swore [describe statement], falsely; (AND)

(2) The defendant acted [insert appropriate mens rea element - See Use

Notes].

Swears Falsely and False Swearing is the making of a false statement under oath

required or authorized by law, or the swearing or affirming the truth of such statement

previously made, which the declarant does not believe to be true. A false swearing in a

subscribed written instrument shall not be deemed complete until the instrument is

delivered by its subscriber, or by someone acting in his/her behalf, to another person with

intent that it be uttered or published as true. [13A-10-100(b)(1)]

Oath includes an affirmation and every other mode authorized by law of attesting

to the truth of that which is stated. Written statements shall be treated as if made under

oath if [Read as appropriate]:

a. The statement was made on or pursuant to form bearing notice, authorized

by law, to the effect that false statements made therein are punishable; (OR)

b. The statement recites that it was made under oath, the declarant was aware

of such recitation at the time he/she made the statement and intended that

the statement should be represented as a sworn statement, and the

statement was in fact so represented by its delivery or utterance with the

signed jurat of an officer authorized to administer oaths appended thereto.

[13A-10-100(b)(3)]

[Read as appropriate]: Jurat is a clause wherein a notary public or other attesting

officer authorized by law to administer oaths in connection with affidavits, depositions and

other subscribed written instruments certifies that the subscriber has appeared before

him/her and sworn to the truth of the contents thereof. [13A-10-100(b)(6)]

An oath is Required or Authorized by Law when the use of the oath is provided for

by statute or municipal ordinance. [13A-10-100(b)(4)]

[Read as appropriate]: Where a person has made statements under oath which

are inconsistent to the degree that one of them is necessarily false, 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. [13A-10-104(a)]

[Read as appropriate]: In any prosecution for perjury, the falsity of a statement

may not be established by the uncorroborated testimony of a single witness. [13A -10-

105]

[Read as appropriate]: No person shall be convicted of perjury if he/she retracted

his/her false statement in the course of the same proceeding in which it was made before

it became manifest that the falsification was or would be exposed. Statements made in

separate hearings at separate stages of the same trial or administrative proceeding shall

be deemed to have been made in the course of the same proceeding. The burden of

injecting the issue of retraction is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of

proof. [13A-10-107]

[Read as appropriate] : It is no defense to prosecut ion for perjury [Read as

appropriate]:

(1) That the oath was administered in an irregular manner;

(2) That there was some irregularity in the appointment or qualification of the

person who administered the oath, if the taking of the oath was required or

authorized by law;

(3) That the document was not sworn to if the document contains a recital that

it was made under oath, the declarant was aware of the recital when he/she

signed the document and the document contains the signed jurat of a public

servant authorized to administer oaths;

(4) That the defendant mistakenly believed the false statement to be

immaterial; (OR)

(5) That the statement was inadmissible under the law of evidence. [13A -10-

108]

If you find from the evidence that the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt

each of the above elements of perjury in the third degree, then you shall find the defendant

guilty of perjury in the third degree.

If you find that the State has failed to prove any one or more of the elements of

perjury in the third degree, then you cannot find the defendant guilty of perjury in the third

degree.

[If lesser -included offenses are included, the Court should instruct on those

offenses at this point.]