No. 19-7952October Term 2019Decided Apr 20, 2020Updated Sep 3, 2026
Thompson v. United States
The Court declined review, leaving the Fifth Circuit's result in place without deciding the legal questions.
Case status
Decided · April 20, 2020
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Apr 20, 2020
- What it's about
The Supreme Court held that 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which forbids knowingly making a false statement to influence a bank, does not criminalize statements that are misleading but literally true. Thompson prevailed because the Court ruled that the statute requires an actually false statement.
Question presented
Whether the "categorical approach" to determining whether a prior conviction is a "crime of violence" under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a) requires a court to consider the "least of the acts" criminalized by the statute of conviction, or whether the court may consider the "ordinary case" of the defendant’s conduct?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit / Decision released Apr 20, 2020
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Decision
What the Court decided
The Court declined review, leaving the Fifth Circuit's result in place without deciding the legal questions.
Impact
The Fifth Circuit's result remains in effect for Thompson. Other defendants raising similar arguments in that court do not get a new Supreme Court answer from this case.
Not official Court text.
Briefing
What it's about
The Court declined to review Michael Thompson's petition from a Fifth Circuit criminal case. The petition questioned how a federal drug law applies when serious bodily injury follows heroin distribution, but the Court did not decide those merits.
Impact
The Fifth Circuit's result remains in effect for Thompson. Other defendants raising similar arguments in that court do not get a new Supreme Court answer from this case.
What's next
The Supreme Court has finished its action in this case. Thompson's lower-court result remains in place.
What did the Supreme Court do in Thompson v. United States?
The Court declined to review the case. It did not decide the petition's arguments about the federal drug law.
Who is affected by the Court's action in this case?
Thompson remains bound by the Fifth Circuit's result. Similar defendants in the Fifth Circuit receive no new Supreme Court precedent from this case.
What happens next after Thompson's petition was denied?
The Supreme Court's action is finished. The Fifth Circuit's result continues to govern Thompson's case.
Timing
Decided April 20, 2020
The Court released its decision on April 20, 2020 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity2
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Sep 3, 2026 | Generated
Brief added: Petition
Mar 5, 2020 | Court records
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Sep 3, 2026
- Method
- Methodology