The Michigan House Wednesday (February 8th) approved two bills introduced by state Rep. John Walsh that make it a crime to willfully and knowingly lie to law enforcement officials during an investigation.
House Bills 5050 and 5051 make it illegal to conceal information or to make misleading statements during a criminal investigation, and sets penalties — including prison time — for doing so.
“This ensures that someone protecting a suspect is not leading police investigators on a wild goose chase,” said Walsh, R-Livonia.. “There has never been a law in Michigan that acts as a deterrent to someone lying to police or providing false information. These bills will make anyone think twice before intentionally providing false information.”
The bills prohibit people from doing any of the following during a criminal investigation:
- Knowingly and willfully issuing or providing any writing or document to the peace officer that the person knows is false or misleading regarding a material fact;
- Knowingly and willfully concealing from the peace officer (by trick, scheme or device) any material fact; and
- Knowingly and willfully making any statement to the peace officer that is false or misleading regarding a material fact.
Based on the severity of the crime being investigated, violators could face penalties ranging from 93 days in jail to two years in prison.
“This in no way impedes on the rights of people being questioned in investigations, nor does it affect due process of the law,” Walsh said. “Time is of the essence in most criminal investigations, and it is a huge waste of time and taxpayer money if officials are chasing down false leads.” (John Walsh audio clip – :19)
Both bills have been sent to the Senate for action.
Source: News release from Michigan House Republicans
Uh…….so our folks in Lansing voted to make lying a criminal offense? Seriously? Governmnent is passing a law against lying? Am I the only one that see’s the irony?
So…I gotta ask…. what’s the penalty for our government at any level lying to the general public to cover their @ss.?…I mean holy crap….we’d really have prison overcrowding then.
I mean let’s get real…..I read time after time in the papers about some meth bust where the person(s) involved are repeat offenders and are still among us because of plea deals…..but I guess we are gonna pass a law to fight the war on lying…..
This is VERY frightening…. this was VERY briefly mentioned in the news, why because it is VERY frightening… Who will determine if you are lying to the police Ummm The police, that’s a little too much power for a police officer to have.. don’t you think!? So they can arrest you and throw you in jail and hold you against your will even if you told the truth because they THINK you are lying to them? WOW ever hear of the novel 1984 by George Orwell….What’s next? A Bill for Thought Crimes? The more ‘protection’ you get from your government the more ‘freedom’ you lose!
Yet, it is not illegal for a police officer to lie to “a citizen”.