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People v. Ellsworth7/6/2000
Defendant further contends that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for acquittal because his false testimony was not material as a matter of law. We disagree. Section 18-8-502(1), C.R.S. 1999, provides in pertinent part that a person commits the offense of first degree perjury when:
in any official proceeding he knowingly makes a materially false statement, which he does not believe to be true....
Defendant here relies primarily on the nature of the license revocation proceeding to argue that it was immaterial at which gas station he stopped. We are not persuaded. A statement is "materially false" if it "could have affected the course or outcome of an official proceeding, or the action or decision of a public servant, or the performance of a governmental function." Section 18-8-501(1), C.R.S. 1999; People v. Drake, 841 P.2d 364 (Colo. App. 1992). To be material, the false statement must relate to some proper matter of inquiry in the proceeding, including the credibility of a witness. United States v. Sablosky, 810 F.2d 167 (8th Cir. 1987). Here, the hearing officer who presided over the revocation proceedings testified that, had he known defendant's statement was false and that the receipt had been falsified, he would have revoked defendant's license rather than dismissing the case. The hearing officer stated that he relied significantly on defendant's false statement, and on the falsified receipt supporting that statement, to conclude that his testimony was more credible than that of the deputy sheriff and the reports of the other driver. Accordingly, the record adequately supports a conclusion by a reasonable juror that defendant's false statement, and the falsified receipt supporting it, did in fact affect the outcome of an official proceeding and was material to defendant's credibility, and we perceive no error in the trial court's ruling.
The judgment is affirmed.
JUDGE TAUBMAN and JUDGE NIETO concur.
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