OUJI-CR 3-17
PERJURY - INTRODUCTION
The defendant(s) is/are charged with perjury/(perjury by contradictory statements) by [Describe Briefly Means by Which Alleged Perjury Committed, e.g., Testimony in Trial of (Name of Parties), Affidavit Concerning (Subject)] on [Date] in [Name of County] County, Oklahoma.
Committee Comments
This introductory instruction is meant for 21 O.S. 1991, ch. 17, §§ 491 through 502, and deals solely with the two perjury crimes listed in sections 491 and 496. The introductory instruction does not cover subornation of perjury. (See OUJI-CR 3-21.)
Chapter 17 contains two perjury crimes: a general perjury crime created by section 491, and a perjury by contradictory statements crime created by section 496. These are the only two sections for which element instructions are needed. The remaining sections of Chapter 17, excluding sections 504 and 505 dealing with subornation of perjury, provide definitions, rules of evidence, and the penalty for perjury. These sections concerning definitions and penalty are discussed as appropriate in the Committee Comments.