Page:Revised Codes of the State of North Dakota 1895.pdf/1276

§§ 6959-6965 CHAPTER 11.

FORGING, STEALING, MUTILATING AND FALSIFYING JUDICIAL AND PUBLIC RECORDS.

§ 6959. Larceny. Destruction of public records by officer. Every clerk, register or other officer having the custody of any record, map or book, or of any paper or proceeding of any court of justice, filed or deposited in any public office, who is guilty of stealing, willfully destroying, mutilating, defacing, altering or falsifying. or fraudulently removing or secreting such record, map, book, paper or proceeding, or who permits any other person so to do, is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than one and not exceeding five years, and in addition thereto forfeits his office.

§ 6960. Same by others. Every person not an officer such as is mentioned in the last section, who is guilty of any of the acts specified in that section, is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than one and not exceeding five years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

§ 6961. Offering forged or false instruments for record. Every person who knowingly procures or offers any false or forged instrument to be filed, registered or recorded in any public office within this state, which instrument, if genuine, might be filed or registered or recorded under any law of this state, or of the United States, is guilty of felony.

CHAPTER 12.

PERJURY AND SUBORNATION OF PERJURY.

§ 6962. Perjury. Every person who, having taken an oath that he will testify, declare, depose or certify truly before any competent tribunal, officer or persun, in any of the cases in which such an oath may by law be administered, willfully and contrary to such oath, states any material matter which he knows to be false, is guilty of perjury.

§ 6963. Oath defined. The term "oath," as used in the last section, includes an affirmation, and every other mode of attesting the truth of that which is stated, which is authorized by law.

§ 6964. Oath of office excepted. So much of an oath of office as relates to the future performance of official duties is not such an oath as is intended by the preceding sections of this chapter.

§ 6965. Irregularities no defense. It is no defense to a prosecution for perjury that the oath was administered or taken in an irregular manner.