Court Opinion

ID: 9774956
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:39:12.170117+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:18.227157
License: Public Domain

MEREDITH, J.,
dissenting.
Is an affiant obligated to respond to a question on a form by providing an answer the affiant believes is factually false in order to avoid committing the crime of perjury? The result in this case places a person in the untenable position of having to state under oath that something is true — namely, in this case, that Furda had in fact “been committed to a mental institution” — even though the person does not believe the truth of that statement, in order to avoid committing the crime of perjury.
In my view, an affiant does not commit the crime of perjury by swearing that a statement is true unless the affiant subjectively believes that the statement is in fact not true. The essential element of both of the crimes of which Furda was convicted is a false statement. In this case, the State argued to the trial court that Furda’s answer to Question 8 was “the basis of the case” because the answer was “demonstrably false.” The trial court agreed that “Mr. Furda knew darn well that he had been involuntarily committed to Potomac *74Ridge. He was not free to leave during that time period. He knew it. It’s a fact.” As the majority opinion points out, however, both the State and the trial judge were incorrect in their assertions that Furda had been committed to a mental institution.
Yet, despite the fact that Furda was correct in asserting that he had never been committed to a mental institution, the majority opinion concludes that his correct assertion was nevertheless an act of perjury. According to the circuit court and the majority opinion in this case, the answer to Question 8 that would have avoided a finding of guilt on the charge of perjury was “yes” even if Furda believed that it would have been a false statement for him to swear that he “ha[d] been committed to a mental institution.” I would hold that it was reversible error for the trial court to find, based upon the evidence in this case, that Furda “willfully and falsely ma[d]e an oath or affirmation as to a material fact ... in an affidavit.” For the same reason, I would also reverse the conviction for making a false statement of fact in a firearm application.
If Question 8 had asked whether any court had ever ruled that the applicant had been committed to a mental institution, then I would agree that, under the circumstances of this case, Furda’s answer of “No” to that question would have supported the convictions. But Question 8 did not ask about any prior court interpretations or rulings. It asked instead: “Have you ever been ... committed to a mental institution?” If Furda believed that the correct answer to that question was “no,” then he should not be found guilty of perjury for having provided what he believed was the correct answer to that question, notwithstanding the fact that a judge had expressed a contrary opinion.
The point is illustrated by a hypothetical case, in which a person is convicted of a robbery that the person knows he did not commit. If asked to answer under oath if he had ever been convicted of a robbery, the correct answer would be “yes,” even if the conviction was being appealed. But, if asked to answer under oath whether he had in fact committed the *75robbery, the truthful answer that would not be perjurious would be “no,” regardless of the fact that some court had found otherwise.
Remarkably, the majority opinion asserts: “In the context of this case appellant’s personal belief was not controlling.” It seems to me that, in the context of a criminal prosecution on the charge of willfully making a false representation, the defendant’s personal belief would indeed be a controlling factor.
I cannot agree with the assertion made in the majority opinion that, “[ujnder the circumstances attendant here, appellant was obligated to answer ‘Yes’ to Question 8 until such time as the court’s finding of commitment was set aside.” To me, that position is tantamount to saying that a person must commit perjury to avoid committing perjury. In my view, it distorts the obligation of the oath if we say that a witness is required to put aside personal beliefs and testify, under threat of criminal penalty, to a version of facts that is at odds with the witness’s own subjective view.
Although the majority opinion devotes many pages to cases that discuss the need for obedience to court orders, cases involving contempt proceedings and injunctions have little to do with the specific question before the Court in this case, namely, whether Furda committed the crimes of perjury and false statement. Regardless of whether Furda displayed appropriate deference to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, or whether he is a person who should have possession of firearms, in this case, Furda was neither cited for contempt nor charged with illegal possession of a firearm. The sole specific allegation of criminality in this case is that Furda illegally gave a false answer on a form when he answered, correctly, that he had never been committed to a mental institution.
The perversity of the result in this case is compounded by the fact that our Court now agrees that Furda was correct when he swore that he had never been “committed to a mental institution.” It cannot be said that the representation he *76made on the form — “No,” I have not “been committed to a mental institution” — -was a false statement of fact. His answer was literally true, and that is normally a complete defense to a charge of perjury. In -view of our conclusion that the circuit court erred in making its November 7, 2007, ruling that Furda had been “involuntarily committed to a mental institution,” I do not see how these convictions can stand. If, as we hold in the companion case, the correct answer to Question 8 truly was the one given by Furda — namely, that he was never “committed” — he should not be found guilty of perjury and false statement for having provided a correct answer to that question.
I therefore dissent from Section II of the Court’s opinion.