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THE CHICAGO GOSSIP
Story By: Kathy Posner
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United States Supreme Court Washington
Last week most people were eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacre and totally missed the Court’s 6-3 decision that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was unconstitutional. That Act made it a federal crime to falsely claim or wear unearned military medals. The wording of the 69 page decision seems to make lying legal!
BACKGROUND:
The case, United States vs. Alvarez, was about Xavier Alvarez, a California Water Board member, who had falsely claimed to have received the Medal of Honor. In 2007 Alvarez pled guilty but reserved the right to appeal. His sentence was three years probation, a $5,000 fine and community service.
On appeal, his lawyer argued that the Stolen Valor Act was unconstitutional because it violates a person’s right to lie. "The Stolen Valor Act criminalizes pure speech in the form of bare falsity, a mere telling of a lie," Alvarez's attorney, Jonathan Libby said at the Court’s hearing in February, "It doesn't matter whether the lie was told in a public meeting or in a private conversation with a friend or family member."
ABC News reported that in its argument before the Supreme Court, the government said that such specific lies fall under a special category of speech that is not protected by the First Amendment -- when the speech could do harm.
DECISION
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority said,"Though few might find (Alvarez's) statements anything but contemptible, his right to make those statements is protected by the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech and expression” he also wrote that the First Amendment "protects the speech we detest as well as the speech we embrace."
Kennedy said that the law as written would criminalize any false speech, even "personal, whispered conversations within a home" and this was granting the government too much power.
Kennedy's plurality opinion was signed by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. A concurring judgment by Justice Stephen Breyer was joined by Justice Elena Kagan.
CONCLUSION
The Supreme Court has ruled that I have a constitutionally- protected right to lie. But they did not rule that you have to believe me...and I am tall, thin and beautiful!"
