Does a criminal defendant’s right to testify in his own defense encompass a concomitant right to commit perjury on the witness stand in an effort to seek exoneration? If, as most observers of the criminal justice system would agree, the answer is a resounding “no,” what should be done about the defendant who nevertheless takes the stand and lies? In federal court, judges routinely enhance sentences when defendants obstruct justice by committing perjury at trial. Less well-known is the similar ability of New York state judges to punish more severely those defendants who have taken the witness stand and lied.
Perjury Enhancements
In United States v. Grayson, decided before the enactment of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the Supreme Court upheld an enhanced sentence based on the trial perjury of a defendant convicted of escaping from federal prison.1 Reviewing the history of such enhancements up to that point, the Court noted that:
