Johnson v. United States (1996)
- Docket
- 96-203
- Decided
- 1996-01-01
Summary
Question: Must criminal convictions for perjury be reversed when a trial judge fails to let the jury rule on whether the underlying statements were material? Conclusion: No. In an opinion delivered by Chief Justice William J. Rehnquist, the Court held that the trial court's action in this case was not "plain error" of the sort which an appellate court may notice under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b). The Court reasoned that there was no basis, on the record, for concluding that the materiality error had seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings, in that the evidence supporting materiality was overwhelming. "No 'miscarriage of justice' will result here if we do not notice the error and we decline to do so," concluded Chief Justice Rehnquist.