Tell the truth. Courts and juries depend upon it and will unleash all kinds of grief if it isn't delivered. Many judges and juries have made decisions based upon whether a witness or party to a lawsuit appeared to be honest, or dishonest.
Click on the representative cases section to see what a divorce court thought of Mr. Fravel's claim that he was a Tennesseean, and what he had to pay me for my time showing his claim was "a shallow artifice." Click on the representative cases section to see what a workers' compensation court did in Ayers v. Ryder after Ryder filed documents which claimed a truck driver's workers' compensation lawsuit should be dismissed. In both cases, counsel fees were awarded, for reasons stated in those opinions.
A consideration for a family law court, when determining who should be the primary residential custodian of a child, is whether one parent or the other is honest. If caught in a lie, the lie could be a basis for the case being lost.
Family law courts customarily devise residential schedules by engaging in a comparative fitness analysis that requires them to determine which of the parents is comparatively more fit to parent than the other. Decisions often hinge upon subtle factors, including the parents' demeanor and credibility.
How do judges instruct jurors regarding credibility?
Tennessee Pattern Jury Instruction (Civil) 2.20 - Credibility of Witness, reads:
"You are the sole and exclusive judges of the credibility or believability of the witnesses who have testified in this case. You must decide which witnesses you believe and how important you think there testimony is (sic.) You are not required to accept or reject everything a witness says. You are free to believe all, none, or part of any person's testimony.
In deciding which testimony you believe, you should rely on your own common sense and everyday experience. There is no fixed set of rules to use in deciding whether you believe a witness, but it may help you to think about the following questions:
1. Was the witness able to see, hear, or be aware of the things about which the witness testified?
2. How well was the witness able to recall and describe those things?
3. How long was the witness watching or listening?
4. Was the witness distracted in any way?
5. Did the witness have a good memory?
6. How did the witness look and act while testifying?
7. Was the witness making an honest effort to tell the truth, or did the witness evade questions?
8. Did the witness have any interest in the outcome of the case.
9. Did the witness have any motive, bias or prejudice that would influence the witnesses testimony?
10. How reasonable was the witness' testimony when you consider all of the evidence in the case?
11. Was the witness' testimony contradicted by what that witness has said or done at another time, by the testimony of other witnesses, or by other evidence?
12. Has there been evidence regarding the witness' intelligence, respectability, or reputation for truthfulness?
13. Has the witness' testimony been influenced by any promises, threats, or suggestions?
14. Did the witness admit that any part of the witness' testimony was not true?"
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of considerations. Tennessee Pattern Jury Instruction (Civil) 2.21 provides:
"There may be discrepancies or differences within a witness' testimony or between the testimony of different witnesses. This does not necessarily mean that a witness should be disbelieved. Sometimes, when two people observe an event, they will see or hear it differently. Sometimes a witness may have an innocent lapse of memory Witnesses may testify honestly but simply may be wrong about what they thought they saw or remembered. You should consider whether a discrepancy relates to an important fact or only to an unimportant detail."
Finally, Tennessee Pattern Jury Instruction (Civil) 2.22 provides for cases in which a witness testifies one way, and then testifies another way:
"You may conclude that a witness deliberately lied about a fact tat is important to your decision in the case. If so, you may reject everything that witness said. On the other hand, if you decide that the witness lied about some things but told the truth about others, you may accept the part you decide is true and you may reject the rest."
A court or jury is supposed to determine what happened based upon the facts introduced at trial, which is a search for the truth. Both courts and juries should consider whether a witness or a party to a lawsuit seems credible. There is a maxim in the law, "falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus," which roughly translates as, "false in one thing, false in all." If one thing is not believed, why would any other testimony be believed when a witness is considered incredible?
Perjury
Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-16-702 and 703: "A person commits aggravated perjury when he or she
(1) makes a false statement under oath with intent to deceive;
(2) The false statement is made during or in connection with an official proceeding; and
(3) The false statement is material.
(b) It is no defense that the person mistakenly believed the statement to be immaterial.
(c) Aggravated perjury is a Class D felony which is punishable by not less than two (2) years nor more than twelve (12) years. In addition, the jury may asses a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), unless otherwise provided by statute.
Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-16-704 explains, "C. It is a defense to prosecution for aggravated perjury that the person retracted the false statement before the conclusion of the testimony at the official proceeding during which the aggravated perjury was committed."
In sum, honesty really is the best policy. In addition to a perjury charge, risking your case or custody of your children, telling the truth is expected by courts and juries who will not tolerate anyone believed to be a perjurer.
