Cite as: 514 U. S. 695 (1995)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
and nonadmission to the bar. After first acknowledging that, but for Bramblett, it might well have accepted the argument that Congress did not intend § 1001 to apply to the courts, the Court of Appeals upheld the conviction. But the court was clearly troubled by the potential sweep of § 1001. Noting that the statute prohibits "concealment" and "covering up" of material facts, as well as intentional falsehoods, the court wondered whether the statute might be interpreted to criminalize conduct that falls well within the bounds of responsible advocacy.9 The court concluded its opinion with this significant comment:
"We are certain that neither Congress nor the Supreme Court intended the statute to include traditional trial tactics within the statutory terms 'conceals or covers up.' We hold only, on the authority of the Supreme Court construction, that the statute does apply to the type of action with which appellant was charged, action which essentially involved the 'administrative' or 'housekeeping' functions, not the 'judicial' machinery of the court." 309 F. 2d, at 237.
Relying on Morgan, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a conviction several years later "because § 1001 does not apply to the introduction of false documents as evidence in a criminal proceeding." United States v. Erhardt, 381 F. 2d 173, 175 (1967) (per curiam). The court explained that the judicial function exception suggested in Morgan was necessary to prevent the perjury statute, with its two-witness rule (since repealed), from being undermined. 381 F. 2d, at 175.
9 " 'Does a defendant "cover up . . . a material fact" when he pleads not guilty?' 'Does an attorney "cover up" when he moves to exclude hearsay testimony he knows to be true, or when he makes a summation on behalf of a client he knows to be guilty?' " Morgan v. United States, 309 F. 2d 234, 237 (CADC 1962), cert. denied, 373 U. S. 917 (1963).
709
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