Chris Gair, ’85, Wins Argument Before Supreme Court
Supreme Court uses Patrick Daley Thompson case to further limit feds
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday sided with former Chicago Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, finding that a law he’d been convicted under outlaws false statements but not misleading ones, as his attorneys have long argued.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the unanimous opinion, which does not overturn Thompson’s conviction but undoes a later ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirming it. Roberts on Friday sent the case back to the appellate court and told it to give it another look.
A jury found Thompson guilty in February 2022 of two counts of lying to regulators and five counts of filing false income tax returns. The conviction ended his tenure as the 11th Ward’s representative on the Chicago City Council.
Thompson is the grandson of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley and the nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. Thompson’s uncle, William Daley, served as chief of staff to President Barack Obama.
U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama sentenced the heir to the Daley political dynasty to four months in prison. Thompson has already served his time, and his appeal revolved only around claims that he made false statements to regulators.
“We’re very gratified that the Supreme Court adopted the arguments that we’ve been trying to convince the Justice Department of all along, and maybe they’ll take this to heart,” said Chris Gair, Thompson’s defense attorney.
Read more at WBEZ Chicago