If the person administering the oath to an affiant lacks authority, what happens to the complaint?

• A. The complaint remains valid.
• B. The oath authority difference does not affect validity.
• C. The complaint is invalid due to lack of authority.
• D. The complaint becomes void but may be corrected.

Answer: (C)

An oath on a complaint must be administered by someone authorized to administer oaths. If the person giving the oath lacks that authority, the sworn statement isn’t legally valid, so the complaint cannot proceed on that basis. In that situation, the complaint is invalid for lack of a properly administered oath, and the appropriate path is to obtain a correctly sworn oath from an authorized official and refile or amend the complaint. The idea that the oath’s authority doesn’t affect validity isn’t correct, and the notion of an immediate void-with-correction glosses over the requirement that the oath itself be properly provided at the outset.