Current through the 2024 Regular Session
Section 97-7-35 - False swearing; false sworn statements to federal authorities as to denial of constitutional rights by the state or its agents(1) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to wilfully and knowingly make any oral or written sworn false statement, or affidavit, or attestation, or complaint, or allegation before any individual or officer authorized to administer oaths, to any agency, or board, or commission, or member, or official, or appointee, or employee, or representative thereof, of the executive, or the legislative, or the judicial department, of the United States, or any subdivision thereof, which may be now in existence, or who may be now appointed, or hereafter created or appointed, including but not limited to any member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any agent, or representative, or investigator, or member of the Commission on Civil Rights of the United States, or the Advisory Committee or Board of the Commission on Civil Rights of the United States appointed in and for the State of Mississippi, that such person, or persons, or other persons have been or are about to be deprived of any right, or privilege, or immunity granted or secured by the United States Constitution and Laws or by the Mississippi Constitution and Laws, by any officer, or agency, or employee, or representative, or board, or commission, or any member thereof of the State of Mississippi, or of any county or municipality, of the State of Mississippi, or of any other political subdivision of the State of Mississippi, or by the State of Mississippi, and any person or persons violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of the crime of false swearing which is created by this section, a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than six (6) months nor more than five (5) years in the penitentiary, or a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00), nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.(2) Corroboration or proof by more than one witness to establish the falsity of testimony or statements under oath is not required in prosecutions under this section. It shall not be necessary to prove, to sustain or charge under this section, that the oath or matter sworn to was material, or, if before an executive, legislative or judicial tribunal committee or commission that the tribunal committee or commission had jurisdiction.Codes, 1942, § 2155.5; Laws, 1960, ch. 256, §§ 1, 2.