Opinion ID: 2966907
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: perjury entrapment

Text: Entrapment occurs when (1) the government induces a person to commit a crime and (2) the person induced had no predisposition to engage in the criminal act. Mathews v. United States, 485 U.S. 58, 63 (1988). In order to establish inducement, a defendant must show that the government acted in an excessive manner that would prompt a reasonably firm person to commit a crime. See United States v. DeVore, 423 F.2d 1069, 1072 (4th Cir. 1970). If the defendant establishes a prima facie case of inducement, the government then must show that the defendant's decision to commit the crime was the product of his own disposition that did not originate from government persuasion. See United States v. Osborne, 935 F.2d 32, 38 (4th Cir. 1991). A defendant is entitled to an entrapment defense whenever there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find entrapment. Mathews, 485 U.S. at 62. Perjury entrapment occurs when a government agent coaxes a defendant to testify under oath for the sole purpose of eliciting perjury. See United States v. Shuck, 895 F.2d 962, 966 (4th Cir. 1990); Brown, 245 F.2d at 555. In the instant case, Petitioner argues that he is a victim of perjury entrapment because the government was aware of his prior false statements to the agents. Petitioner asserts that the government coaxed him into testifying before the grand jury for the sole purpose of eliciting perjury. This argument is unpersuasive. Entrapment is an affirmative defense. United States v. Blevins, 960 F.2d 1252, 1257 (4th Cir. 1992). Hence, the Petitioner must demonstrate that the government induced him to commit a crime. See Osborne, 935 F.3d at 38. Based upon the information presented by the 8 Petitioner, the Court concludes that there is no evidence suggesting that the government's purpose in questioning the defendant was the solicitation of perjured testimony. See Shuck , 895 F.2d at 966. At the time that Petitioner testified before the grand jury, the government was conducting an investigation into possible money laundering at Eagle Motors. Petitioner's testimony was a source of possible evidence into several individuals' involvement in criminal activity. The government did suspect that Petitioner provided false statements to the government agents in a prior interview. However, this does not mean that the government did not have a valid purpose in eliciting Petitioner's testimony before the grand jury. It also does not show that the government knew Petitioner would testify falsely before the grand jury. Prior to his grand jury testimony, Petitioner knew that the government agents did not believe his statements. Moreover, Petitioner was provided with Fifth Amendment warnings before he testified. He was explicitly told that he could refuse to answer any question on the ground that it might incriminate him. Arguably, Petitioner's prior false statements provided the government with notice that he might testify falsely before the grand jury. However, this falls far short of proving that the government asked him to testify for the purpose of eliciting perjury. When the government has a legitimate reason for asking a witness to testify before the grand jury and the witness is provided with adequate warnings, the mere fact that the government knows that the witness possibly may provide false testimony does not establish the requisite showing of inducement. See United States v. Vesich, 724 F.2d 451, 460-61 (5th Cir. 1984). Absent sufficient evidence that the government asked defendant to testify for the purpose of eliciting perjury, the defense of perjury entrapment must fail. See Shuck, 895 F.2d at 966.