People v Matiala - Is Lying on a 4473 Sufficient to Support a Conviction for Perjury Under Illinois Law ?

[Molly B.]

According to the 4th District Appellate Court, no.

 

Quote

 

People v Matiala

 

The narrow question presented here is whether a knowingly false statement on
Form 4473, promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as
a prerequisite to obtaining a firearm is sufficient to support a conviction for perjury under Illinois
law where the form only requires the applicant to “certify” the truth of the responses. We find that
it does not, and we therefore reverse outright defendant’s conviction.

https://ilcourtsaudio.blob.core.windows.net/antilles-resources/resources/6bbbd0cc-85b3-4cb4-913d-f75be45a7e32/People v. Matiala, 2023 IL App (4th) 220387.pdf

 

 

[JTHunter]

Who says they are "lying"?  Is it possible that they may just not be remembering things correctly?

[Glock43]

Would Illinois even have jurisdiction for a federal form?

[mab22]

It’s all about the words used. 
Interesting read.

[starwatcher]

Sounds like they just charged him with the wrong crime.

[gunuser17]

That a court held that it isn't enough to support an Illinois perjury charge does not mean that it is not enough to support a federal charge for intentionally lying on a federal document as is plainly stated on the form.

[Flynn]

On 4/12/2023 at 3:15 PM, gunuser17 said:

That a court held that it isn't enough to support an Illinois perjury charge does not mean that it is not enough to support a federal charge for intentionally lying on a federal document as is plainly stated on the form.

 

That is what it boils down to, the Illinois perjury law requires one be under oath (or affirmination) when the false statement was made, filing out the form lacks that oath element...  I'm guessing there is some other 'false statements' on official documents law in Illinois that would have been more applicable, but the prosecutor pressed the wrong law.

[Lou]

Not .long ago Neil Steinberg, liberal columnist for the Sun times tried to buy an AR15 to show how easy it is to buy an evil black rifle.  He made more than one false statement on the 4437 and was denied by the dealer 
 

Being a liberal journalist evidently makes you immune to perjury charges. 🤬