When I was in, there wasn't any "so help me God", it was just "I swear". As
for what happens if you can't so swear, the judge just dismisses you. Your
answer would likely get you in trouble with the judge, though, since the court
doesn't in fact bar you from telling the whole truth. It just won't let you go
wandering afield, you have to answer the question being asked. There's a line
between a question that's phrased so that you can answer truthfully and
completely but there's still relevant information that wasn't asked for, vs. a
question for which there exists no completely truthful answer. Eg.:
"How
many lawsuits have you been a plaintiff in?". If you've been a defendant in 10
lawsuits but never the plaintiff, you can answer "None." and be stating the
whole truth. The question is incomplete, but your answer isn't. I'd feel
comfortable answering that question as phrased.
"Did you prevail or lose
in your lawsuit against X?". You've never sued X. This is one where there's no
completely truthful answer, all possible answers include the false statement
that you did sue X. This is where I'd turn to the judge with "I can't give a
truthful answer to that question, how would you like me to proceed?". The
judge's first question's going to be "Why can't you?", which gives me leave to
tell him why, and now it's a race between me answering the judge and the
questioning attorney withdrawing the question. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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