Perjury in St. Johns County, Florida

Perjury cases in St. Johns County result in conviction at notably high rates. Of 37 cases, 67.6 percent ended in guilty verdicts, substantially above the statewide guilty rate. Withheld adjudication occurred in 27 percent of local cases, exceeding the statewide average of 20.5 percent. Together, these outcomes mean roughly 94.6 percent of perjury defendants in St. Johns County faced either formal conviction or guilt findings. Dismissals were rare at 2.7 percent, slightly higher than the statewide 1.7 percent rate, and no defendants were acquitted. Diversion, which allows defendants to avoid conviction through program completion, occurred in only 2.7 percent of cases compared to a statewide average of 6.2 percent, suggesting St. Johns County prosecutors pursue perjury charges more aggressively than typical.

Sentenced defendants received an average of 543.5 days of incarceration and 980.6 days of probation. About 32.4 percent served prison time and 27 percent served jail time. The median sentence of 366 days indicates that half of convicted defendants received sentences of a year or less, while the mean pulled higher due to longer sentences in some cases. Public defenders represented 54.1 percent of defendants, while 21.6 percent had private counsel, reflecting the financial burden perjury charges impose on defendants.