United States v. Yermian (468 U.S. 63)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 27, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 468 U.S. 63 · 104 S. Ct. 2936
- Decided
- June 27, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1983
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Powell
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court. It is a federal crime under 18 U. S. C. § 1001 to make any false or fraudulent statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of a federal agency. To establish a violation of §1001, the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the statement was made with knowledge of its falsity. This case presents the question whether the Government also must prove that the false statement was made with actual knowledge of federal agency jurisdiction. HH Respondent E small Yermian was convicted m the District Court of Central California on three counts of making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of a federal agency, in violation of § 1001. The convictions were based on false statements respondent supplied his employer in connection with a Department of Defense security questionnaire. Respondent was hired in 1979 by Guitón Industries, a defense contractor. Because respondent was to have access to classified material in the course of his employment, he was required to obtain a Department of Defense Security Clearance. To this end, Gulton’s security officer asked respondent to fill out a “Worksheet For Preparation of Personnel Security Questionnaire.” In response to a question on the worksheet asking whether he had ever been charged with any violation of law, respondent failed to disclose that in 1978 he had been…
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