To Tell the Truth: A Qui Tam Action for Perjury in a Civil Proceeding is Necessary to Protect the Integrity of the Civil Judicial System

Date

2006

Authors

Watts, John

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Abstract

This article examines why perjurious testimony has become less controllable in modern society as a result of various societal and religious pressures. The second part of this article discusses the shortcomings of the judicial system’s traditional tools employed to combat perjury in our modern society and the civil procedure system. The third part addresses the historical public policy justifications for witness immunity generally and particularly with regard to civil liability for perjury. The fourth part of this article discusses the substantive and procedural flaws of Maine’s civil perjury statute, the only act of its kind, and explains how the proposed MCPA and its qui tam provisions overcome these inadequacies. The fifth part of the article discusses the MCPA, while the sixth part summarizes the social and legal changes that have rendered the traditional tools to fight perjury ineffective. The article concludes by calling for the legislature to boldly confront the problem of perjury by enacting the MCPA to support and enforce the essential truth-seeking process of the courts and the legitimacy of the judicial system

Description

Keywords

tort reform, MCPA, perjury, testimony, expert, qui tam

Citation

79 Temp. L. Rev. 773 (2006)