Justices Say Ex-Alderman’s Convictions Need Another Look (1)

The US Supreme Court on Friday vacated a Seventh Circuit decision affirming former Chicago Alderman Patrick Daley Thompson’s convictions for lying to bank regulators.

The law he was convicted under—which prohibits knowingly making “any false statement” to certain financial institutions—doesn’t also criminalize statements that are misleading but not false, the unanimous court said in a decision authored by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

The statute doesn’t use the word misleading anywhere, and while people may use the words “false” and “misleading” interchangeably in casual conversation, the words mean different things.

“A misleading statement can be true,” Roberts said. False ...