Perjury is the criminal offense of making a false statement under oath—verbally or in writing—that the witness knows to be false and that is material to the proceeding in which the statement is made. And suborning perjury or subornation of perjury is the criminal offense of procuring the perjury of another person.

Perjury is a criminal offense under both state and federal laws and may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or as a felony offense, depending on the state or federal jurisdiction, and whether there are any aggravating factors that increase the seriousness of the crime. Perjury laws are located in state statutes—often in the penal or criminal code—and the federal perjury law is located in the United States Code at 18 U.S.C. §1621.

In Nebraska, perjury is defined as intentionally making a false statement under oath or affirming the truth of a statement previously made when the statement is material to the proceeding at hand. This is outlined in Nebraska Revised Statute 28-915. Perjury is considered a Class III felony in Nebraska, which can result in a prison sentence and/or a fine. Subornation of perjury, which involves persuading or inducing another person to commit perjury, is also a criminal offense and is treated with similar severity as perjury itself. At the federal level, perjury is governed by 18 U.S.C. § 1621, which also criminalizes the act of making false statements under oath in federal proceedings, and the penalties can include fines and imprisonment. The specific circumstances of the false statement, such as the nature of the proceeding and the materiality of the statement, can influence the severity of the charges and penalties.