It was a rare and startling moment in any courtroom. The judge was sentencing a defendant, but directed some of his harshest comments at three witnesses who had helped prosecutors obtain the conviction.
One of the witnesses “flat-out lied. He should be charged with perjury,” said Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael McShane.
The judge’s outburst was unusual, but it also raised a fundamental question about the justice system: How much lying occurs in courtrooms by people who have sworn to tell the truth?