Another Judge says Stolen Valor is not a crime

A month ago it was a Colorado judge and now it is one out of California

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Judge rules Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional

By Dan Elliott - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jul 16, 2010 19:14:54 EDT
DENVER — A law that makes it illegal to lie about being a war hero is unconstitutional because it violates free speech, a federal judge ruled Friday as he dismissed a case against a Colorado man who claimed he received two military medals.Rick Glen Strandlof claimed he was an ex-Marine who was wounded in Iraq and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star, but the military had no record he ever served. He was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have won a military medal.U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn dismissed the case and said the law is unconstitutional, ruling the government did not show it has a compelling reason to restrict that type of statement.
click link for more

Court says lying about Medal of Honor no crime
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle August 17, 2010 06:48 PM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

(08-17) 18:48 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal law making it a crime to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor or other military decorations violates freedom of speech, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Although a Southern California water board member convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act made "deliberate and despicable" claims that he had received the Medal of Honor, the Constitution prohibits the government from prosecuting someone for merely lying, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a 2-1 ruling.

"The right to speak and write whatever one chooses - including, to some degree, worthless, offensive and demonstrable untruths - without cowering in fear of a powerful government is, in our view, an essential component of the protection afforded by the First Amendment," Judge Milan Smith said in the majority opinion.

Read more: Court says lying about Medal of Honor no crime