Testilying
Encyclopedia
Testilying is a United States
police
slang
term for the practice of giving false testimony
against a defendant in a criminal trial. It is typically used to "make the case" against someone they believe to be guilty when minor irregularities during the suspect's arrest or search threaten to result in acquittal on a technicality. Defendants who embellish their own testimony, particularly when no evidence contradicts them, can also be said to be testilying.
, notably in a 1994 New York Times article, "Accomplices to Perjury," in which he said:
There seems to be little doubt that the practice occurs, is not limited to any region of the country, and that "testilying" is a common name for it. A 2003 Boston Globe editorial noted:
The LAPD
is said to call the practice "joining the liars' club." In a 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times
, "Has the Drug War Created an Officer Liars' Club?," Joseph D. McNamara, then chief of police of San Jose
, said "Not many people took defense attorney Alan M. Dershowitz seriously when he charged that Los Angeles cops are taught to lie at the birth of their careers at the Police Academy. But as someone who spent 35 years wearing a police uniform, I've come to believe that hundreds of thousands of law-enforcement officers commit felony perjury every year testifying about drug arrests." He noted that "Within the last few years, police departments in Los Angeles, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, New York and in other large cities have suffered scandals involving police personnel lying under oath about drug evidence."
created a furor when he said he agreed with most of what Dershowitz had to say. The Globe quoted Richard Bradley, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association: "I find it incredible that he would say that. Every day all over the country, police officers are testifying. Everyone realizes they are testifying under oath. If this was this much a problem, it would have come to light over the years." Bradley said that in 27 years on the Boston force he had never encountered the practice.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
term for the practice of giving false testimony
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
against a defendant in a criminal trial. It is typically used to "make the case" against someone they believe to be guilty when minor irregularities during the suspect's arrest or search threaten to result in acquittal on a technicality. Defendants who embellish their own testimony, particularly when no evidence contradicts them, can also be said to be testilying.
Published usage
The word and its meaning have been publicized by defense attorney Alan DershowitzAlan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
, notably in a 1994 New York Times article, "Accomplices to Perjury," in which he said:
As I read about the disbelief expressed by some prosecutors... I thought of Claude RainsClaude RainsClaude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
's classic response, in CasablancaCasablanca (film)Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
on being told there was gambling in Rick's place: "I'm shocked—shocked." For anyone who has practiced criminal law in the state or Federal courts, the disclosures about rampant police perjuryPerjuryPerjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
cannot possibly come as a surprise. "Testilying"—as the police call it—has long been an open secret among prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges.
There seems to be little doubt that the practice occurs, is not limited to any region of the country, and that "testilying" is a common name for it. A 2003 Boston Globe editorial noted:
In the early 1990s, the Mollen CommissionMollen CommissionThe Mollen Commission is formally known as The City of New York Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department. Former judge Milton Mollen was appointed in July 1992 by then New York City mayor David N. Dinkins to investigate...
peeled away layers of falsehood in the New York City Police DepartmentNew York City Police DepartmentThe New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
, including false statements on warrant applications, creation of confidential informants out of whole cloth, and lies told to establish probable cause for stopping and searching vehicles. So-called "testilying," however, is not limited to any one area or police department. The problem has become so acute that juries nationwide routinely express skepticism about law enforcement testimony, such as drugs found "in plain viewPlain view doctrineThe plain view doctrine allows an officer to seize--without a warrant--evidence and contraband found in plain view during a lawful observation. This doctrine is also regularly used by TSA Federal Government Officers while screening persons and property at U.S...
".
The LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
is said to call the practice "joining the liars' club." In a 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "Has the Drug War Created an Officer Liars' Club?," Joseph D. McNamara, then chief of police of San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, said "Not many people took defense attorney Alan M. Dershowitz seriously when he charged that Los Angeles cops are taught to lie at the birth of their careers at the Police Academy. But as someone who spent 35 years wearing a police uniform, I've come to believe that hundreds of thousands of law-enforcement officers commit felony perjury every year testifying about drug arrests." He noted that "Within the last few years, police departments in Los Angeles, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, New York and in other large cities have suffered scandals involving police personnel lying under oath about drug evidence."
Prevalence
The extent of the practice is hotly debated. Rank and file policemen, police advocates and police unions acknowledge that it does occur but deny that it is widespread or systemic. In 1995, the Boston Globe reported that New York Police Commissioner William J. BrattonWilliam J. Bratton
William Joseph "Bill" Bratton CBE is an American law enforcement officer who served as the chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department , New York City Police Commissioner, and Boston Police Commissioner....
created a furor when he said he agreed with most of what Dershowitz had to say. The Globe quoted Richard Bradley, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association: "I find it incredible that he would say that. Every day all over the country, police officers are testifying. Everyone realizes they are testifying under oath. If this was this much a problem, it would have come to light over the years." Bradley said that in 27 years on the Boston force he had never encountered the practice.
Further reading
- The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
May 2, 1994, p. A1, Accomplices to Perjury, Alan Dershowitz - Boston Globe November 15, 1995, Metro section, p. 1: "Bratton calls 'testilying' by police a real concern"
- Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
February 11, 1996: "Has the Drug War Created an Officer Liars' Club?" Joseph D. McNamarac - Testilying: Police Perjury and What to Do About It by Christopher Slobogin, 67 University of Colorado Law Review 1037 (1996).
- The Dirty Little Secret by Morgan Cloud, 43 Emory Law Journal 1311 (1994).
- Just the Facts, Ma'am: Lying and the Omission of Exculpatory Evidence in Police Reports by Stanley Z. Fisher, 28 New England Law Review 1 (1993).
External links
- Has the Drug War Created an Officer Liars' Club Online text of McNamara article cited above.
- "Testilying: Police Perjury and What To Do About It" article originally appearing in the University of Colorado Law Review in 1996