New York statute
N.Y. Penal Law § 210.20 — Perjury; pleading and proof where inconsistent statements involved
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 210: Perjury and Related Offenses, New York Penal Law.
Full text of N.Y. Penal Law § 210.20
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
210.20 Perjury; pleading and proof where inconsistent statements
involved.
Where a person has made two statements under oath which are
inconsistent to the degree that one of them is necessarily false, where
the circumstances are such that each statement, if false, is
perjuriously so, and where each statement was made within the
jurisdiction of this state and within the period of the statute of
limitations for the crime charged, the inability of the people to
establish specifically which of the two statements is the false one does
not preclude a prosecution for perjury, and such prosecution may be
conducted as follows:
1. The indictment or information may set forth the two statements and,
without designating either, charge that one of them is false and
perjuriously made.
2. The falsity of one or the other of the two statements may be
established by proof or a showing of their irreconcilable inconsistency.
3. The highest degree of perjury of which the defendant may be
convicted is determined by hypothetically assuming each statement to be
false and perjurious. If under such circumstances perjury of the same
degree would be established by the making of each statement, the
defendant may be convicted of that degree at most. If perjury of
different degrees would be established by the making of the two
statements, the defendant may be convicted of the lesser degree at most.
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This reference is informational and is not legal advice.