Political speech
Oh, snap. That's what I said when I read this quote by a judge who was responding to water board Xavier Alvarez who said that it is in within his constitutional right to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner rejected Alvarez's argument, stating in his written ruling that "such lies are not protected by the Constitution."
Judge says Medal of Honor law constitutional
Will Bigham, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 04/10/2008 03:06:22 PM PDT
Pomona water board member Xavier Alvarez's request to have the federal charges against him dismissed has been rejected by the judge hearing the case.
Alvarez is facing two misdemeanor counts for falsely claiming he won the Medal of Honor. He never served in the military.
In the motion to dismiss the charges, Alvarez's public defender argued that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which prohibits anyone from falsely claiming to have been awarded the Medal of Honor, violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutional because it criminalizes what the attorney termed "political" speech.
So, is political speech the type of speech that gives politicians the right to say whatever they want and never be held accountable for anything they say. That sounds about right.
Comments
Good for the judge! Keep him on the bench.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 11, 2008 10:59 AM