I had the pleasure of witnessing, what must truly be a singular event in the practice of law. It occurred on Friday last, in small claims court in my home town. It was a simple detainer action which my partner was hired to administer. The lease was solid, the owner kept great records, and the Defendant was Pro Se. Nothing to it, right?
That’s what we expected. The Plaintiff claimed damages in an amount equal to unpaid rent plus costs. The Defendant says “I paid rent.” Still this is in the realm of normalcy. People make these claims all the time. You see, when we say “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”, we don’t really mean it. We only want the pertinent truth and just a snapshot of that. But courts do expect the truth.
I am thoroughly convinced that some degree of perjury is committed every time the court is in session. Most of the time it occurs with things none too important. My favorite is the Defendant, appearing for driving on a suspended licence who swears to the judge he will not drive until he gets them back. That same Defendant usually walks out of court, gets in his car and drives home. But what I witnessed on this day shook me a bit.
You see, the tenant (Defendant) says she paid rent. But she went on to say, “I have proof.” Ok. At this point, my partner is perplexed. She was prepared, she had exhibits, she had witnesses, and she even had a recording of the Defendant stating that rent had not been paid since September. So obviously, this peaked my partner’s interest.
The Defendant proceeds to introduce to the court 4 photocopies of checks that had been sent by her to plaintiff. And deposited in plaintiff’s bank. Now, the Plaintiff does not have a record of these, and they kept great records. They just didn’t exist.
The judge instructs defendant to show the photocopies to Plaintiff’s counsel before presenting to the judge. My partner is 100% blind, but she has impeccable intuition. (not to mention a heightened sense of hearing, which is a topic for another post) She has an assistant who peered over these copies. It took only a brief glance for suspicion to set in. The judge was warned by plaintiff that these appeared to be altered.
Could this really be happening? I began to get nervous for the Defendant. It felt wrong just to watch. I felt that, at any moment, the judge would lay down the papers, rise from his chair, and proceed to reign down a ferocious and inflamed barrage of condemnation on this woman. Usually, in reality, this looks very similar to contempt and jail. (But I like fire and condemnation better!)
Yet, the judge, as calming as the setting sun, asked the parties to stand and be sworn in. Following the ordinary spiel about truth and whole truth came a very emphasized “under penalty of PERJURY!”
The defendant subsequently admitted under oath and on the record that she had a friend “fix up” these documents. She had no explanation as to why. And, to be honest, she did herself a favor by not laboring the court with petty excuses.
Still, I sat in amazement. First, wondering to myself what it must have felt like to knowingly present false documents to a court of law. It almost, and I stress almost, made me feel sorry for her. But second, I could not believe the reaction from the judge. It was as unexpected as the perjury. But in the end, the court may have the last laugh.
The court explained to Defendant that he was going to present this forgery issue to the D.A. and see if the general wanted to pursue criminal charges. So, it seems that Ms. Defendant may have a place to stay after she has to vacate the rental… The county clink!
If you are ever before a court for any reason, just be honest. The truth will come out, and if that happens while you are still the same room with the judge, do not expect to be treated as generously as this woman was!
Brandon J. Cox, esq.
201 West Main Street
Smithville, TN 37166
(615) 597-5297
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