Uttering is a

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

involving a person with the intent to defraud that knowingly sells, publishes or passes a

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compression (physics), compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die (manufacturing), die. Forging is often classif ...

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

ed document. More specifically, forgery creates a falsified document and uttering is the act of knowingly passing on or using the forged document.

Background

In the law of countries whose legal systems derive from

English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality bef ...

, uttering is a

similar to

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific mens rea, intent to wikt:defraud#English, defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be fo ...

. Uttering and forgery were originally

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

offences, both

misdemeanour A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

s. Forgery was the creation of a forged document, with the intent to defraud; whereas uttering was merely use – the ''passing'' – of a forged document, that someone else had made, with the intent to defraud. In law, uttering is synonymous with publication, and the distinction made between the common law offences was that forgery was the ''fabrication'' of a forged instrument (with the intent to defraud) and uttering was the ''publication'' of that instrument (with the intent to defraud). Statute law offences of forgery replace the common law offences nowadays, often subsuming the offence of uttering, and, where the distinction exists, forgery is usually a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

rather than a misdemeanour.

Law systems

Canada

''Uttering a forged document'' is a criminal offence in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, contrary to section 368 of the

Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

. It is an

indictable offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

and is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

Republic of Ireland

Uttering forged documents remains a crime in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

under the

Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 (No. 50 of 2001) updates and consolidates the law relating to dishonesty and fraud in Ireland. The main sections of the statute include: * Theft and Related Offences *Making gain or caus ...

. Prior to that, the Forgery Act 1837, Forgery Act 1861 and Forgery Act 1913, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, remained in force.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Section 36 of the Forgery Act 1861, still in force, creates the offence of, among other things, uttering a forged register or entry in a register, or certificate of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, or burials, or copy of such an entry. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. Initially, Section 6 of the Forgery Act 1913, now repealed, created the offence of uttering a forged document, seal, or die. The Act defined all of those terms for that purpose. Section 29(1)(i) of the

Larceny Act 1916 The Larceny Act 1916 ( 6 & 7 Geo. 5. c. 50) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose was to consolidate and simplify the law relating to larceny triable on indictment and to kindred offences. The definition of larceny f ...

, now repealed, created the offence of uttering a letter or writing demanding property with menaces.

Scotland

In Scotland, ''uttering forged writings'' is a crime defined as "using as genuine a fabricated writing falsely intended to pass as genuine the writing of another person".

United States

In the U.S., uttering is the act of offering a forged document to another when the offeror has knowledge that the document is forged. Uttering does not require that the person who presented the document actually forged or altered the document. For example, forging a log for personal profit might be considered uttering and publishing. Another example would be the forging of a university diploma. As an example of the law itself, the

State of Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

defines the offense (MCL 750.249): "Any person who utters and publishes as true any false, forged, altered or counterfeit record,

deed A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...

, instrument or other writing specified, knowing it to be false, altered, forged, or counterfeit, with intent to injure or

defraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

is guilty of uttering and publishing." Forging or illegal "publishing" of an official or unofficial document is not the essence of uttering. Uttering is the actual presentation of forged or official documentation as one's own.

Notes

References

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