F 7.23

F 7.23 n1 Perjury: Prejudicial Error For Failure To Instruct On The More-Than-One Witness Requirement.

The United States Supreme Court found reversible error in the failure to give an instruction precluding conviction based solely on the evidence of a single witness in Weiler v. U.S. (45) 323 US 606 [89 LEd 495; 65 SCt 548]. The high court noted the historical precedent for the rule: “The special rule which bars conviction for perjury solely upon the evidence of a single witness is deeply rooted in past centuries.” (Id. at 608-09; but see People v. Trotter (99) 71 CA4th 436 [83 CR2d 753] [more-than-one-witness requirement does not apply to falsity in signing under penalty of perjury].) Trotter reached this result based on the conclusion that the focus of the corroboration requirement in perjury is on the falsity of the statement and, since the defendant admitted that the signature was false, there was no need to require corroboration by a second witness when the only question was the identity of the perjurer. (99 DAR at 3587-88.)

Further, this is a question which must be decided by the jury. “To resolve this latter question is to determine the credibility of the corroborative testimony, a function which belongs exclusively to the jury.” (Id. at 609-10.) Accordingly, the failure to instruct on this requirement was held to be reversible error. [Additional briefing on the single witness issue is available to FORECITE subscribers. Ask for Brief Bank # B-775.]