Legal Definitions - suborn

To suborn means to secretly or deceptively persuade another person to commit an unlawful or wrongful act. Most commonly, it refers to convincing someone to lie under oath, which is known as perjury.

Subornation of perjury is a specific crime where one person intentionally induces another to give false testimony while under oath in a legal proceeding. This act of persuading someone to commit perjury is itself a serious offense.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of subornation:

• Example 1: Inducing a general unlawful act
  A construction company executive, facing a safety inspection, pressures a site manager to remove hazardous materials from the premises just before the inspectors arrive, promising a promotion if the site passes without issues. The executive knows these materials should be properly stored and reported.

  Explanation: The executive is attempting to suborn the site manager by inducing them to commit an unlawful act (concealing safety violations) in a deceptive and underhanded manner to avoid penalties.

• Example 2: Subornation of perjury in a civil case
  In a lawsuit concerning a property dispute, one neighbor asks a mutual acquaintance to testify in court that they saw the property line markers in a specific location for many years, even though the acquaintance knows the markers were recently moved by the neighbor making the request.

  Explanation: The neighbor is attempting to commit subornation of perjury by persuading the acquaintance to give false testimony under oath in a civil legal proceeding to gain an advantage in the dispute.

• Example 3: Subornation of perjury in a criminal case
  A person accused of theft contacts a friend and offers them a significant sum of money to testify in court that they were together at a different location at the time the theft occurred, providing a false alibi, even though the friend knows this is untrue.

  Explanation: The accused individual is engaging in subornation of perjury by inducing the friend to provide false testimony under oath in a criminal trial to mislead the court and avoid conviction.