Also known as:swear · swore · swearing · under oath
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A declaration or testimony given after the speaker has taken an oath or affirmation administered by an authorized person. The oath binds the speaker to tell the truth on pain of perjury. The requirement ensures the statement carries legal weight in judicial, administrative, or official proceedings.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Presidential Elector Selection
State legislators direct the appointment of electors for the presidential election. Each elector must complete a certificate listing the votes cast that functions as a sworn record before transmitting it to the Senate. The process confirms the electors' authority under the constitutional framework.
Interrogatory Responses in Discovery
A plaintiff serves interrogatories on a corporate defendant. The designated officer prepares written answers addressing each question. The officer then signs the responses under oath and returns them within the required period.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
Federal Rules
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Common Law
Restatements
Casebooks
A jury is selected and sworn in a criminal trial for theft. The prosecution begins presenting evidence. After the swearing, the defendant cannot be retried for the same offense even if the first proceeding ends without a verdict.
Irretrievable Breakdown Finding
Spouses file a joint petition stating under oath that their marriage is irretrievably broken. The court holds a hearing and accepts the sworn statements as sufficient. It then enters a finding dissolving the marriage without further inquiry.
Genetic Testing Order
A party seeking to establish parentage submits a sworn statement alleging a reasonable possibility of genetic parentage. The court reviews the statement and orders genetic testing of the child and the alleged parent. The testing proceeds under the uniform act's procedures.
Reconciliation Inquiry After Denial
One spouse denies under oath that the marriage is irretrievably broken. The court examines the circumstances of the filing and the prospects for reconciliation. It then decides whether to make a finding or continue the matter for further proceedings.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
5
When does jeopardy attach in a jury trial?+
Jeopardy attaches when the jury is empaneled and sworn. After that point the defendant receives protection against retrial for the same offense absent manifest necessity or other recognized exceptions.
Supporting sources
What must accompany interrogatory answers under the federal rules?+
Each interrogatory must be answered separately and fully in writing under oath to the extent it is not objected to. The person making the answers must sign them.
Supporting sources
How does a sworn statement affect a divorce proceeding under the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act?+
When both parties state under oath that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court makes a finding after a hearing. If one party denies the breakdown under oath, the court must consider additional factors before deciding.
Supporting sources
What role does a sworn statement play in ordering genetic testing?+
A request for genetic testing must be supported by a party's sworn statement alleging a reasonable possibility of genetic parentage or denying it with supporting facts. The court then orders testing unless an exception applies.
Supporting sources
Does the constitutional text require electors to act under oath?+
The text requires each state to appoint electors and directs them to meet and vote by ballot. The process produces signed and certified lists that function as sworn or attested records of the electoral votes.
Supporting sources
5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803)Property
…Wagner and Daniel Brent, summoned to attend but understood to have declined giving voluntary affidavits. They objected to being sworn, alleging they were clerks in the Department of State and not bound to disclose facts relating to the business or transactions in the office. Mr. Lee observed that the Secretary of State's…