Can I File a Perjury Complaint for Filing False Affidavits in Court?
Full Question:
Answer:
It is possible to file a complaint for perjury in court. An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is medieval Latin for he has declared upon oath. An affidavit is a type of verified statement or showing, or in other words, it contains a verification, meaning it is under oath or penalty of perjury, and this serves as evidence to its veracity and is required for court proceedings.
Fraud involves a knowingly made misrespresentation that is intended to cause another to rely and act on it to their harm. Courts have held that a party may rescind a contract for fraud, incapacity, duress, undue influence, material breach in performance of a promise, or mistake, among other grounds. In order to prove a fraud claim, it must be shown that the defendant had an intent to deceive. If deception was used to induce another to rely on a promise and such reliance caused harm, it is possible to recover damages. Fraud may be made by an omission or purposeful failure to state material facts, which nondisclosure makes other statements misleading.
Please see the following TX styatutes:
§ 37.02 PENAL. Perjury
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to deceive and
with knowledge of the statement's meaning:
(1) he makes a false statement under oath or swears to the truth of a
false statement previously made and the statement is required or
authorized by law to be made under oath; or
(2) he makes a false unsworn declaration under Chapter 132, Civil
Practice and Remedies Code.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
37.09 PENAL Tampering With or Fabricating Physical
Evidence
(a) A person commits an offense if, knowing that an investigation or
official proceeding is pending or in progress, he;
(1) alters, destroys, or conceals any record, document, or thing with
intent to impair its verity, legibility, or availability as evidence in
the investigation or official proceeding; or
(2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with
knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome
of the investigation or official proceeding.
(b) This section shall not apply if the record, document, or thing
concealed is privileged or is the work product of the parties to the
investigation or official proceeding.
(c) An offense under Subsection (a) or Subsection (d)(1) is a felony
of the third degree, unless the thing altered, destroyed, or concealed is
a human corpse, in which case the offense is a felony of the second
degree. An offense under Subsection (d)(2) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) knowing that an offense has been committed, alters, destroys, or
conceals any record, document, or thing with intent to impair its verity,
legibility, or availability as evidence in any subsequent investigation
of or official proceeding related to the offense; or
(2) observes a human corpse under circumstances in which a reasonable
person would believe that an offense had been committed, knows or
reasonably should know that a law enforcement agency is not aware of the
existence of or location of the corpse, and fails to report the existence
of and location of the corpse to a law enforcement agency.
(e) In this section, "human corpse" has the meaning assigned by
Section 42.08.
