James Brogan v. United States (522 U.S. 398)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 26, 1998 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 522 U.S. 398 · 118 S. Ct. 805
- Decided
- January 26, 1998
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether there is an exception to criminal liability under 18 U. S. C. § 1001 for a false statement that consists of the mere denial of wrongdoing, the so-called "exculpatory no.” I While acting as a union officer during 1987 and 1988, petitioner James Brogan accepted cash payments from JRD Management Corporation, a real estate company whose employees were represented by the union. On October 4,1993, federal agents from the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service visited petitioner at his home. The agents identified themselves and explained that they were seeking petitioner’s cooperation in an investigation of JRD and various individuals. They told petitioner that if he wished to cooperate, he should have an attorney contact the United States Attorney’s Office, and that if he could not afford an attorney, one could be appointed for him. The agents then asked petitioner if he would answer some questions, and he agreed. One question was whether he had received any cash or gifts from JRD when he was a union officer. Petitioner’s response was “no.” At that point, the agents disclosed that a search of JED headquarters had produced company records showing the contraiy. They also told petitioner that lying to federal agents in the course of an investigation was a crime. Petitioner did not…
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