In the 1973 case Musser v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter involving polygamy and religious freedom. The appellants were members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect who practiced polygamy as part of their religion. They had been convicted in federal court for unlawful cohabitation under Utah law, which they argued violated their First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion. However, the Supreme Court upheld their convictions by affirming that while individuals have the right to believe what they wish, when it comes to action (in this case practicing polygamy), such actions can be regulated by states if there is a compelling state interest - here being public morality and welfare.

In the dissenting opinion for Musser v. United States, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a conviction under a federal statute prohibiting "false pretenses" in obtaining bank loans failed to consider important aspects of legislative intent and statutory interpretation. The dissent contended that Congress intended this law specifically to target frauds involving false statements about one's own assets or collateral, not schemes like the defendant’s where he used an intermediary borrower as part of his scheme. It also criticized the majority for failing to apply established principles of lenity which require ambiguous criminal laws be interpreted in favor of defendants. Furthermore, they believed that by upholding this broad application of the statute, it could potentially criminalize many ordinary business transactions where third parties are involved indirectly with loan procurement.