Question

1. What caused Congress to consider legislation that become the Stolen Valor Act?

Answer 1

The key issue in the case was whether the First Amendment protects false statements of fact made without any attempt to defraud or gain anything of value. On this question, six justices agreed that some measure of protection was warranted but disagreed as to the level of protection, while the three dissenters wrote that knowingly false statements are unprotected by the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court's June 28, 2012, decision in United States v. Alvarez reaffirmed the important First Amendment principle that the First Amendment "protects the speech we detest as well as the speech we embrace." The Court voted 6-3 to strike down the Stolen Valor Act, 18 U.S.C. § 704, which made it a federal crime to falsely claim receipt of military decorations or medals, upholding a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.