U.S. v. Phillips

In prosecution under 18 USC section 1014 arising out of defendants' submission of home loan application that contained false information about plaintiffs' income and employment, Dist. Ct. did not err in barring defendants from asking questions designed to elicit testimony that plaintiffs' mortgage broker assured them that submission of said application was lawful. Defendant's proposed evidence, which went to issue as to whether defendants were aware that their acts were unlawful, was irrelevant since charged offense only required proof that defendants knowingly made false statements to lender for purpose of influencing lender's decision on loan application. Moreover, Ct. rejected defendants' contention that they were entitled to acquittal based on their claim that they thought that lender did not care about truth of their representations on loan application. (Dissent filed.)