If cops lie under oath, it isn't perjury.

Another trial, another cop, another lie, another pass. Attorney Dan Ross is in trial this week on a shooting case. One of the witnesses was a homicide detective who signed an affidavit for probable cause in a co-defendant's case and noted that he was only able to see and identify one of three shooters. The detective's affidavit goes into some detail about only being able to identify the one shooter. Since the detective did not identify the client on trial in the sworn affidavit, Dan was a little miffed when, during the trial, the detective testified before the jury that he could identify two shooters, one of them being the defendant on trial. Obviously the prosecutor and detective had "forgotten" about the affidavit filed in the companion case and so just presented the false testimony since it helped the prosecution. So, a detective gives two different statements under oath, and one of them must be false. He either could identify one suspect, or he could identify two suspects. He either testified falsely in the affidavit or at trial. What happens when a prosecution witness is caught lying under oath? Nothing. If you're interested, this is the perjury statute: Perjury. 575.040. 1. A person commits the crime of perjury if, with the purpose to deceive, he knowingly testifies falsely to any material fact upon oath or affirmation legally administered, in any official proceeding before any court, public body, notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths. 2. A fact is material, regardless of its admissibility under rules of evidence, if it could substantially affect, or did substantially affect, the course or outcome of the cause, matter or proceeding. 3. Knowledge of the materiality of the statement is not an element of this crime, and it is no defense that: (1) The defendant mistakenly believed the fact to be immaterial; or (2) The defendant was not competent, for reasons other than mental disability or immaturity, to make the statement. 4. It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection 1 of this section that the actor retracted the false statement in the course of the official proceeding in which it was made provided he did so before the falsity of the statement was exposed. Statements made in separate hearings at separate stages of the same proceeding, including but not limited to statements made before a grand jury, at a preliminary hearing, at a deposition or at previous trial, are made in the course of the same proceeding. 5. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of retraction under subsection 4 of this section. 6. Perjury committed in any proceeding not involving a felony charge is a class D felony. 7. Perjury committed in any proceeding involving a felony charge is a class C felony unless: (1) It is committed during a criminal trial for the purpose of securing the conviction of an accused for murder, in which case it is a class A felony; or (2) It is committed during a criminal trial for the purpose of securing the conviction of an accused for any felony except murder, in which case it is a class B felony.