Source: https://openjurist.org/466/us/475/united-states-v-rodgers
Timestamp: 2017-11-18 18:04:32
Document Index: 343345795

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1001', '§ 533', '§ 3056', '§ 1001', '§ 1001', '§ 1001']

466 U.S. 475 - United States v. Rodgers
Larry Wayne RODGERS.
Discussing the same amendment in United States v. Bramblett, supra, 348 U.S., at 507, 75 S.Ct., at 507, we concluded: "There is no indication in either the committee reports or in the congressional debates that the scope of the statute was to be in any way restricted." And in Bryson v. United States, supra, 396 U.S., at 70-71, 90 S.Ct., at 359-360, we noted the "valid legislative interest in protecting the integrity of official inquiries" and held that a "statutory basis for an agency's request for information provides jurisdiction enough to punish fraudulent statements under § 1001."2
There is no doubt that there exists a "statutory basis" for the authority of the FBI and the Secret Service over the investigations sparked by respondent Rodgers' false reports. The FBI is authorized "to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States," including kidnaping. 28 U.S.C. § 533(1). And the Secret Service is authorized "to protect the person of the President." 18 U.S.C. § 3056. It is a perversion of these authorized functions to turn either agency into a Missing Person's Bureau for domestic squabbles. The knowing filing of a false crime report, leading to an investigation and possible prosecution, can also have grave consequences for the individuals accused of crime. See United States v. Adler, 380 F.2d, at 922; Friedman v. United States, 374 F.2d, at 377 (Register, J., dissenting). There is, therefore, a "valid legislative interest in protecting the integrity of [such] official inquiries," an interest clearly embraced in, and furthered by, the broad language of § 1001.
The Court of Appeals supported its failure to give the statute a "literal interpretation" by offering several policy arguments in favor of a more limited construction. For example, the court noted that § 1001 carries a penalty exceeding the penalty for perjury3 and argued that Congress could not have "considered it more serious for one to informally volunteer an untrue statement to an F.B.I. agent than to relate the same story under oath before a court of law." Friedman v. United States, supra, at 366. A similar argument was made and rejected in United States v. Gilliland, 312 U.S., at 95, 61 S.Ct., at 523. The fact that the maximum possible penalty under § 1001 marginally exceeds that for perjury provides no indication of the particular penalties, within the permitted range, that Congress thought appropriate for each of the myriad violations covered by the statute. Section 1001 covers "a variety of offenses and the penalties prescribed were maximum penalties which gave a range for judicial sentences according to the circumstances and gravity of particular violations." Ibid.
Perhaps most influential in the reasoning of the court below was its perception that "the spectre of criminal prosecution" would make citizens hesitant to report suspected crimes and thereby thwart "the important social policy that is served by an open line of communication between the general public and law enforcement agencies." Friedman v. United States, supra, at 369. But the justification for this concern is debatable. Section 1001 only applies to those who "knowingly and willfully" lie to the Government. It seems likely that "individuals acting innocently and in good faith, will not be deterred from voluntarily giving information or making complaints to the F.B.I." United States v. Adler, supra, at 922. See also United States v. Lambert, 501 F.2d, at 946; Friedman v. United States, supra, at 377 (Register, J., dissenting).4