Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)
Following what the Supreme Court is actually doing can be daunting. Reporting on the subject is often only done within the context of political narratives of the day -- and following the Court's decisions and reading every new case can be a non-starter. The purpose of this Podcast is to make it as easy as possible for members of the public to source information about what is happening at the Supreme Court. For that reason, we read every Opinion Syllabus without any commentary whatsoever. Further, there are no advertisements or sponsors. We call it "information sourcing," and we hope that the podcast is a useful resource for members of the public who want to understand the legal issues of the day, prospective law students who want to get to know legal language and understand good legal writing, and attorneys who can use the podcast to be better advocates for their clients.
*Note this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.
Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)
Thompson v. United States (Criminal / False Statement)
In Thompson v. United States the Supreme Court held that 18 U.S.C. §1014, which prohibits “knowingly mak[ing] any false statement” to influence the FDIC’s actions on a loan, does not extend to statements that are merely misleading but not technically false.
Patrick Thompson, a former Chicago Alderman, was charged under §1014 after disputing his loan balance in conversations with FDIC contractors, stating he had only borrowed $110,000 when in fact he had borrowed $219,000 in total. A jury convicted him, and the lower courts upheld the conviction on the basis that his statements, though potentially technically true, were misleading. They concluded §1014 criminalizes misleading statements.
The Supreme Court reversed, emphasizing that the statute's text criminalizes only “false” statements—not misleading ones. The Court distinguished between the two, noting that misleading statements can be true, and true statements are not false. Because Congress included only the word “false,” and not “misleading,” the Court concluded the statute’s reach does not extend beyond literal falsehoods.
Contextual analysis reinforced this conclusion. Other statutes in Title 18 use both terms explicitly. The historical and legislative context showed that Congress knew how to include “misleading” when it intended to do so, and declined to do so in §1014. Precedents like United States v. Wells and Williams v. United States also supported a narrow interpretation of §1014, requiring statements that are actually and factually false.
The Court remanded the case for the Seventh Circuit to decide whether a reasonable jury could find that Thompson’s statements were, in fact, false—not merely misleading.
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Justices Alito and Jackson filed concurring opinions.
