In re Perez

In In re Perez (1978) 84 Cal.App.3d 168, the court held that a sentencing court may consider a defendant's perjury in determining the length of the sentence. This is a proper factor to consider because it reflects upon the character of the defendant and his prospects for rehabilitation. However, absent a separate charge of perjury and determination that defendant was guilty of that offense, a finding of perjury for purposes of imposing additional punishment or lengthening an already imposed sentence in order to punish the defendant for perjury is improper as violative of due process (at p. 171). As a procedural safeguard, "it is incumbent upon a trial judge who injects the subject of perjury into the sentencing process expressly to state the sense in which it has been considered, or such sense should otherwise clearly appear from the record." ( Id. , at p. 173.)