North Dakota Code 12.1-11-04 – General provisions
1. Falsification is material under sections 12.1-11-01, 12.1-11-02, and 12.1-11-03 regardless of the admissibility of the statement under rules of evidence, if it could have affected the course or outcome of the official proceeding or the disposition of the matter in which the statement is made. Whether a falsification is material in a given factual situation is a question of law. It is no defense that the declarant mistakenly believed the falsification to be immaterial.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 12.1-11-04
- Actor: includes , where relevant, a person guilty of an omission. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
- Oath: includes "affirmation". See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Official proceeding: means a proceeding heard or which may be heard before any government agency or branch or public servant authorized to take evidence under oath, including any referee, hearing examiner, commissioner, notary, or other person taking testimony or a deposition in connection with any such proceeding. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Verified: means sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths. See North Dakota Code 1-01-42
2. It is no defense to a prosecution under sections 12.1-11-01 or 12.1-11-02 that the oath or affirmation was administered or taken in an irregular manner or that the declarant was not competent to make the statement. A document purporting to be made upon oath or affirmation at a time when the actor represents it as being so verified shall be deemed to have been duly sworn or affirmed.
3. It is a defense to a prosecution under sections 12.1-11-01, 12.1-11-02, or 12.1-11-03 that the actor retracted the falsification in the course of the official proceeding or matter in which it was made, if in fact he did so before it became manifest that the falsification was or would be exposed and before the falsification substantially affected the proceeding or the matter.
4. In sections 12.1-11-01 and 12.1-11-02, “statement” means 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.