LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In response to what he says has become a commonplace problem in the local courts, Lake County's district attorney has launched a new Perjury Investigation Unit which now is moving forward on its first case.
District Attorney Don Anderson said that when a witness testifies in a court of law or submits declarations to the court it is always submitted under the penalty of perjury. Even so, he said lying to the court and juries are common occurrences that undermine the integrity of the judicial system.
“The idea of people lying in court has always been an issue. It's always been a big problem,” and one that's been going on unchecked, said Anderson.
“It bothers me that there's so much lying going on in court,” said Anderson, who believes there should be serious ramifications for lying in court.
So he decided to do something about it.
He began the new specialized Perjury Investigation Unit in June, tapping Deputy District Attorney Danny Flesch to handle the cases.
Flesch will be assisted by the agency's entire team of investigators, with Andrew Chapman – a new addition to the department – acting as the specialist, Anderson said.
Anderson said they will actively seek out, investigate and prosecute perjury cases, which will include following up on complaints filed with his department.
Not only will the unit work to discourage perjury among witnesses and litigants, but Anderson said it's also meant to caution attorneys against encouraging the practice, as he said he can foresee situations where people will claim their attorneys told them to make untrue statements.
“Most attorneys I've talked to like the idea I've come up with and are very supportive of our perjury prosecution unit,” Anderson said.
Cases they're pursuing will rely heavily on strong evidence of a material lie – either in court or in a declaration, he said.
As for the potential number of cases, “I think we'll be overwhelmed by them,” Anderson said.
He said he will be keeping statistics on his effort to help chart its effectiveness.
The penalty for perjury or subornation of perjury can carry a prison sentence of two, three or four years, Anderson said.
Anderson pointed out that the California Penal Code section that deals with perjury contains a section that makes it possible for a perjury conviction to be punishable by death if a person gave false testimony that led to someone being convicted and put to death wrongly.
Specifically, that section of the penal code, PC 128, relates to aggravated perjury. It allows for a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Anderson said he's not sure that section in the California penal code has ever been used.
The first filing
The first case Anderson's new unit has filed came last month.
On Aug. 17, the unit concluded its investigation of in-court perjured testimony with the arrest of 38-year-old Clearlake resident Merissa Leigh James, Anderson said.
Anderson said the Perjury Investigation Unit had received information that James would be submitting fraudulent documents to the court in her own defense.
Court records show that James has had several criminal convictions in Lake County, including one in 2002 for making or passing a fictitious check, to which she pleaded guilty, and two separate cases in 2014 in which she entered no contest pleas to theft and a felony drug offense.
James had about half a dozen probation violations on those cases, according to court records.
One of the conditions of her probation was to make monthly reports to the Lake County Probation Department, Anderson said.
While James claimed she was complying, “In reality, she wasn't making reports,” Anderson said.
Rather, he said she was claiming she had submitted the reports and that they had been lost by the Probation Department.
Anderson said James then decided to submit doctored reports for the months of February through September of 2015.
Those false reports were entered into evidence and James testified on Aug. 17 that she had signed and mailed the reports to the Probation Department early this year, Anderson said.
The problem was, she used a newer version of the required probation form that wasn't in use until last month, Anderson said.
As James left the courtroom, Anderson said his staff met her outside and she admitted what she had done.
She subsequently was arrested and charged with felony counts including perjury, offering false evidence and preparing false documentary evidence, as well as a special allegation that she committed these new crimes while released on her own recognizance during the pendency of a felony matter, according to Anderson.
Prior to the hearing, James had a recommended 30-day county jail sentence. Now, with the felony perjury charges, she faces up to six years in state prison if convicted, Anderson said.
Anderson said James' arrest is the first in a series of arrests that he anticipates will take place as a result of the unit's work.
He said arrest warrants in another case – this one pertaining to family law – are expected to be issued soon.
New approach to an old problem
Until now, perjury prosecutions locally just haven't happened, said Anderson, adding that the only local case he's heard of took place 30 years ago.
“It's extremely rare any place in the state for someone to be prosecuted for perjury,” he said.
In creating his new unit, Anderson said he was building it as he went, with no model as a guide. “I don't know of any DA's office in the state that has this type of unit.”
While Anderson said perjury is common in all sorts of cases, it seems to be an almost constant problem in family law cases.
Anderson's formation of the unit came in the wake of revelations earlier this year that a former Clearlake woman had pressured her daughter to lie about being molested by Luther Jones, the woman's former boyfriend.
Jones and the woman had another, younger child together who the courts had given him custody of, but shortly thereafter his former girlfriend retaliated by having her older daughter make the molestation allegation.
In 1998 Jones was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in state prison, where he remained until February, when the young woman who had made the allegations as a child came forward to tell Anderson and his staff that she had been pressured to life. Within a week, Jones was released.
Anderson has said in previous interviews that while he is looking at pursuing a perjury prosecution in that case, it would be challenging due to the length of time that has passed.
Angela Carter, who heads up the county's indigent defense contract, agrees.
Carter and Anderson worked together on the effort to have Jones freed. “It was complete teamwork, beginning to end,” said Carter, including in that team effort the work of Judge Andrew Blum, who had ordered that Jones be freed right away rather than allowing the process to be prolonged with additional hearings.
Jones has since received more than $930,000 from the state for the wrongful conviction and incarceration, as Lake County News has reported.
While Jones' health is failing – he just recently came out of a coma – Carter, who has acted as his attorney since his release, said he's surrounded by family, eating his favorite foods and able to see some justice after years of being wrongfully locked up.
Carter thinks it's understandable that in light of the Jones case Anderson would want to try to take on the problem through the new perjury prosecution unit.
However, while Carter said a grave injustice was done to Jones, like Anderson she's doubtful that a perjury case could be successful against Jones' ex-girlfriend due to the amount of time that has elapsed.
In assessing the idea of the perjury unit as a whole, Carter offers a caution, noting that she's concerned it could have a possible chilling effect on witnesses in all sorts of cases.
She explained that witnesses can, and do, draw inaccurate conclusions or make honest mistakes without any intent to deceive.
As well, she said witness recollection may be inaccurate, especially when a trial takes place months or even years after the events at issue.
There's also the impact of the trauma and fear a person experiences when witnessing a crime, which can impact perfect recall, Carter said.
Carter said she gets calls all the time from potential witnesses who have issues with their recollection of events and are nervous about going on the stand in the first place, which all by itself can be a frightening experience.
“Now there's an additional piece of fear going on,” she said of the fear some witnesses might have about being prosecuted for perjury.
Carter said she understands why Anderson is taking this approach, acknowledging perjury in the legal system is a commonplace occurrence.
“Perjury, I think, happens more than any of us want to acknowledge, but it's really hard to prove,” she said. “I'll be curious to see how it plays out.”
She also lauded Anderson for his creative thinking and for not being afraid to do something new and different to address a longstanding problem right here in Lake County.
“I love seeing things that are cutting edge come out of our judicial system,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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