I primarily ask this question because most of the procedural crime dramas on TV show people/witnesses/involved parties repeatedly lying their asses off to the police, states attorney, FBI etc., with little to no repercussions as long as the “real” bad guy is caught.
What happens in real life? Do the police and others ignore lies as long a they get the bad guys?
IANAL or LEO, however there are statutes regarding ‘Unsworn Falsification’ that can get you nicked if the parties involved wish to press the issue.
Obstruction of Justice?
No cite handy, but I understand that, if you’re being interrogated, lying to the FBI is a crime but lying to the local PD isn’t.
I’m not sure, but I do know that (in certain circumstances) the police are allowed to lie to you.
It’s possible they might, if you’re not obstructing the investigation, because the state may lack the resources to prosecute everyone who commits an offense.
So if the Los Angeles or Detroit police beat a false confession out of you, and once you’re judged not guilty, can they turn around and charge you with lying to the police? 
I guess that’s a way to always get your man…
Martha Stewart is now in a federal prison for obstructing justice and lying to investigators. Those were felony charges against her.
Attempting to pervert the course of justice is a serious offence in the UK.
Homer: The evening began at the gentleman’s club, where we discussed Wittgenstein over a game of backgammon.
Scully:Mr. Simpson, it’s a felony to lie to the FBI.
Homer: We were in Barney’s car eating packets of mustard. Are you happy now?
Surely this excludes self incrimination?
Sorry, this made me laugh pretty good.
It’s ultimately up to the DA to press charges. You can lie to any law enforcement authority, and if they choose to press charges, you’re in trouble. If they don’t, then you can go free. There’s always discretion involved.
OTOH, there are instances where a suspect is given leeway to lie, if the truthful answer would incriminate him. As a hypothetical case, if the police grab you and ask you if you robbed a liquor store, and you say “no,” they usually can’t try you on perjury if you are found not guilty of the liquor store robbery. The legal thinking is that a truthful answer would be self-incrimination, so you can’t be penalized for sticking to your rights.
Well, it would be a tad bit difficult to do undercover work if the police were not allowed to lie to you, now wouldn’t it?
Are you an undercover officer?
N…Yes.
About 3 and a half years ago, I was the primary whistleblower in a $50 million corporate bank fraud case which involved demonstrable police corruption on the part of a retired California Highway Patrol officer who was also at one time the chief of the Inglewood, CA Police Department. My own local PD demonstrated some extremely suspicious behavior regarding the whole affair, and they lied both to me and to several other people concerning their involvement in the case. They told different stories to different people, seemingly unconcerned with the possibility that we would contact each other and compare notes (which we did). Not only did their behavior appear to suggest that they were involved in some sort of criminal activity, they became visibly defense and hostile when I confronted them with this evidence and demanded an explanation. So in this case at least, it seems that they felt perfectly justified in lying not only to an individual, but to an extended group of people.
Lying to the police is certainly a crime, and an easy arrest. I agree, the cops on television could be hooking people left and right (but that wouldn’t make for an interesting investigation).
In Washington State (where I work), there are several ways this can occur:
[ul]
[li]Providing False Information while stopped for a traffic violation - Misdemeanor[/li][li]Making a False or Misleading Statement to a Public Servant - Gross Misdemeanor[/li][li]Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer - Gross Misdemeanor[/li][li]False Swearing (lying in writing, if the form is properly constructed) - Gross Misdemeanor[/li][/ul]
So how serious penalty wise is a “gross misdemeanor”?
You have the right not to say anything that would incriminate yourself. However, you still do not have the right to lie. You can refuse to answer my questions, but if you do answer, you can’t lie.
We all know the mantra: “You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law”.
An interesting caveat to this is that pre-Miranda silence can be used against you in a court of law.