John Marshall Harlan II

“ One who elects such a course as a means of self-help may not escape the consequences by urging that his conduct be excused because the statute which he sought to evade is unconstitutional. This is a prosecution directed at petitioners' fraud. It is not an action to enforce the statute claimed to be unconstitutional.' 384 U.S., at 867, 86 S.Ct., at 1847.
We find the principle of Dennis no less applicable in the case before us. First, none of the elements of proof necessary for petitioner's conviction under § 1001 has been shown to depend on the validity of § 9 (h) . ”

“ Our legal system provides methods for challenging the Government's right to ask questions [12] -lying is not one of them. A citizen may decline to answer the question, or answer it honestly, but he cannot with impunity knowingly and willfully answer with a falsehood.
Petitioner argues, and the District Court also found, that Dennis is distinguishable, and that its teachings therefore have no relevance in this instance. The first distinction offered is that Dennis involved a conviction for conspiracy, whereas this petitioner was prosecuted under § 1001 for individually making a false statement. ”

“ If apart from attempting to impeach the jury's verdict, see n. 8, supra, petitioner is suggesting that the principles of Dennis depend on an assessment of moral culpability beyond the jury's determination of guilt, he simply misconceives the basis of Dennis. Dennis can hardly be read as instructing courts to impose an extra punishment on a defendant found to have been dishonest by refusing to consider a constitutional argument that is legally relevant to his defense. ”