In the United States v. Harris case of 1940, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter involving federal income tax evasion. The defendant, Albert Harris, was charged with willfully attempting to evade and defeat his income taxes for the years 1934 and 1935 by filing false and fraudulent returns. He appealed his conviction arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support it. However, the Supreme Court upheld his conviction stating that there was ample evidence in record showing he had substantial amounts of taxable income for those years which he did not report in his return forms. Furthermore, they found that such conduct constituted an attempt to evade or defeat tax within meaning of Revenue Act applicable at time period concerned.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Harris, Justice Frankfurter disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a federal statute that criminalized making false statements about receiving military decorations or medals. He argued that this law violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and was therefore unconstitutional. According to Justice Frankfurter, lying is not inherently harmful and should be protected under free speech unless it causes significant harm or is used for fraudulent purposes. He also pointed out inconsistencies in how lies are treated under different laws, suggesting a lack of clear legal standards on this issue.