Turning a Blind Eye: Perjury in Domestic Violence Cases

64 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2008 Last revised: 16 Oct 2008

Date Written: July 18, 2008

Abstract

Providing false testimony under oath unmistakably constitutes perjury; however, providing false testimony in domestic violence cases is complicated. Very little scholarship has addressed the issue of perjury, much less in the context of domestic violence cases. Although some scholars have acknowledged the epidemic of recanting in domestic violence cases, none have dealt with the fact that many recantations occur under oath. The response to perjury in domestic violence cases is to turn a blind eye and ignore it. Perjured testimony poses a significant threat to the court system. Indeed, one of the goals of a trial is to find the truth. False statements in domestic violence cases harm the criminal justice system and leads to apathetic attitudes towards victims. The Supreme Court's recent decision in Giles v. California and other cases involving the Confrontation Clause may lead to increased opportunities for perjury in domestic violence cases. Since there is no current rule or standard involving perjury in domestic violence cases individual prosecutor offices get to make their own rules, leading to arbitrary decisions.

The purpose of this article is to give scholars and practitioners a starting point on what to do with the perjurer in the domestic violence case. I intend for this article to fill a void in the literature, and challenge the presumption that perjury should be ignored based on one's status as a victim. This article explores the unique relationship between domestic violence victims and the criminal justice system; the motivations behind false statements by victims; and the collateral consequences of false statements in domestic violence cases. Ultimately, the article proposes legislation to address the particular issues which confront domestic violence victims and would protect victims under limited circumstances.

Keywords: domestic violence, perjury, Giles, Crawford, prosecution, recantation, retraction, false statements, perjurious testimony, victim wrongdoing

JEL Classification: K00, K40, K42, K14, K30

Suggested Citation

Rutledge, Njeri Mathis, Turning a Blind Eye: Perjury in Domestic Violence Cases (July 18, 2008). New Mexico Law Review, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1162926

Njeri Mathis Rutledge (Contact Author)

South Texas College of Law Houston ( email )

1303 San Jacinto Street
Houston, TX 77002
United States
7136461842 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://njerirutledge.com

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