State v. . Dowd

Pee OueiaM.

Lord Coke defined perjury at common law as “a crime committed when a lawful oath is administered, by any that hath authority, to any person in any judicial proceeding, who sweareth absolutely and falsely in a matter material to the issue or cause in question, by their own act, or by the subornation of others.” 3 Coke Inst., 164. The requisites are the false oath, lawfully administered in a judicial proceeding or in the course of justice, and wilfully and corruptly taken, in regard to a matter material to the issue or inquiry. Pegram v. Stoltz, 76 N. C., 349. At common law false…