(a) Where a person has made statements under oath which are inconsistent to the degree that one of them is necessarily false, each having been made within the jurisdiction of this state and within the period of the statute of limitations, the prosecution may proceed by setting forth the inconsistent statements in a single count alleging in the alternative that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant to have been true when made. 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.
criminal case

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Terms Used In Alabama Code 13A-10-104

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
(b) The highest degree of perjury of which the defendant may be convicted shall be determined by hypothetically assuming each statement to be false and perjurious. If perjury of the same degree would be established by the making of each statement, the accused may be convicted of that degree at most. If perjury of different degrees would be established by the making of the two statements, the accused may be convicted of the lesser degree at most.
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