(A) Definitions pertaining to offenses against justice. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
JUROR. A person who is a member of any impaneled jury, including a grand jury, and includes any person who has been drawn or summoned to attend as a prospective juror.
MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT. Any false statement, regardless of its admissibility under the rules of evidence which could have affected the outcome of the proceeding. Whether a falsification is material in a given factual situation is a question of law.
OATH. An affirmation or other legally authorized manner of attesting to the truth of a statement. A written statement shall be treated as if made under OATH when:
(a) The statement was made on or pursuant to a form bearing notice, authorized by lav;, that false statements made there in are punishable; or
(b) The document recites that the statement was made under oath, and:
1. The declarant was aware of such recitation at the time he or she made the statement;
2. The declarant intended that the statement be represented as sworn; and
3. The statement was in fact so represented by its delivery or utterance with the signed jurat of an officer, authorized to administer oaths appended thereto.
OFFICIAL PROCEEDING. A proceeding heard before any legislative, judicial, administrative or other governmental agency or official authorized to hear evidence under oath, including any referee, hearing examiner, commissioner, notary or other person taking testimony or depositions in any such proceedings.
PUBLIC SERVANT.
(a) Any public officer or employee of the state or of any political subdivision thereof or of any governmental instrumentality within the state;
(b) Any person exercising the functions of any such public officer or employee;
(c) Any person participating as advisor, consultant or otherwise in performing a governmental function, but not including witnesses; or
(d) Any person elected, appointed or designated to become a public servant although not yet occupying that position.
REQUIRED OR AUTHORIZED BY LAW. The oath is provided for by statute, regulation, court rule or otherwise by law.
STATEMENT. Any representation, but includes a representation of opinion, belief or other state of mind only if the representation clearly relates to state of mind apart from or in addition to any facts which are the subject of the representation.
(KRS 5 24.010)
(B) General provisions pertaining to offenses against justice.
(1) (a) When a person has made inconsistent statements under oath, both having been made within the period of the statute of limitations, the prosecution may proceed by setting forth the inconsistent statements in a single charge alleging in the alternative that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant. In such case it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to prove which statement was false but only that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant to be true.
(b) The highest offense of which a person may be convicted in such an instance shall be determined by hypothetically assuming each statement to be false. If perjury of different degrees would be established by the making of the two statements, the person may only be convicted of the lesser degree. if perjury or false swearing would be established by the making of the two statements, the person may only be convicted of false swearing.
(KRS 523.050)
(2) In any prosecution for perjury or false swearing, except prosecution based upon inconsistent statements pursuant to division (B)(1) above, falsity of a statement may not be established solely through contradiction by the testimony of a single witness.
(KRS 523.060)
(3) No prosecution shall be brought under this section when the substance of the defendant’s false statement is his or her denial of guilt in a previous criminal trial.
(KRS 523.070)
(4) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that;
(a) The oath or affirmation was administered or taken in an irregular marine r or that the declarant was not competent to make the statement; or
(b) The court in which the acts constituting the offense were committed lacked jurisdiction over the person of the accused of the subject matter.
(KRS 523.080)
(5) No person shall be guilty of an offense under this section if he or she retracted the falsification in the course of the proceeding in which it was made before such false statement substantially affected proceeding and before it became manifest that its falsity was or would be exposed.
(KRS 523.090)
(C) Perjury in the second degree.
(1) A person is guilty of perjury in the second degree when he or she makes a material false statement which he or she does not believe in a subscribed written instrument for which an oath is required or authorized by law with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official functions.
(2) Perjury in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
(KRS 523.030)
(D) False swearing.
(1) A person is guilty of false swearing when he or she makes a false statement which he or she does not believe under oath required or authorized by law.
(2) False swearing is a Class B misdemeanor.
(KRS 523.040)
(E) Unsworn falsification to authorities.
(1) A person is guilty of unsworn falsification to authorities when, with an intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her duty, he or she:
(a) Makes a material false written statement, which he or she does not believe, in an application for any pecuniary or other benefit or in a record required by law to be submitted to any governmental agency;
(b) Submits or invites reliance on any writing which he or she knows to be a forged instrument, as defined in § 130.13(A); or
(c) Submits or invites reliance on any sample, specimen, map, boundary mark or other object he or she knows to be false.
(2) Unsworn falsification to authorities is a Class B misdemeanor.
(KRS 523.100)
(F) Tampering with a witness.
(1) A person is guilty of tampering with a witness when, knowing that a person is or may be called as a witness in an official proceeding, he or she:
(a) Induces or attempts to induce the witness to absent himself or otherwise avoid appearing or testifying at the official proceeding with intent to influence the outcome thereby; or
(b) Knowingly makes any false statement or practices any fraud or deceit with intent to affect the testimony of the witness.
(2) Tampering with a witness is a Class A misdemeanor.
(KRS 524.050)
(G) Jury tampering.
(1) A person is guilty of jury tampering when, with intent to influence a juror’s vote, opinion, decision or other action in a case, he or she communicates or attempts to communicate, directly or indirectly, with a juror other than as a part of the proceedings in the trial of the case.
(2) Jury tampering is a Class A misdemeanor.
(KRS 524.090)
(H) Simulating legal process.
(1) A person is guilty of simulating legal process when he or she delivers or causes to be delivered to another a request for the payment of money on behalf of a creditor knowing that in form and substance it simulates an legal process issued by any court of this state.
(2) Simulating legal process is a Class B misdemeanor.
(KRS 524,110)
(1980 Code, § 1020.10)