California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Moore, 59 Cal.App.4th 168, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 56 (Cal. App. 1997):
In People v. Hedgecock (1990) 51 Cal.3d 395, 272 Cal.Rptr. 803, 795 P.2d 1260, which involved a perjury conviction arising from errors or [59 Cal.App.4th 182] omissions in disclosure statements required by the Political Reform Act, the trial court instructed the jury that if it found the defendant made one or more statements as charged, those statements were material within the definition of perjury given. (Id. at p. 404, 272 Cal.Rptr. 803, 795 P.2d 1260.) On appeal, the People contended that materiality was a legal question for the trial court. The defendant argued that it constituted an element of the offense and therefore had to be determined by the jury. (Id. at p. 407, 272 Cal.Rptr. 803, 795 P.2d 1260.)
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