Tom Ramstack - AHN News Legal Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) - The Supreme Court met Friday to discuss which cases it will hear, among them a challenge to the Stolen Valor Act. The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 is a federal law that forbids falsely claiming to have received U.S. military decorations and medals. A conviction can lead to six months in jail, unless the defendants lie to say they received Medals of Honor, which can get them a year of imprisonment.
When President George W. Bush signed the law, there were 120 living Medal of Honor winners but many others who falsely claimed to have won the award. About 60 people have been prosecuted for violating the law since it was enacted.
Former Navy SEAL Don Shipley, who tries to expose phony war heroes, told ABC News the Stolen Valor Act has uncovered a large number of imposters.
"I can't even keep up with the amount of fraudulent claims and phony SEALs," Shipley said. "Guys who haven't ever considered doing this are coming out of the woodwork, and we're nailing them as fast as we can."
The question before the Supreme Court is whether the law oversteps the First Amendment's right to free speech. In other words, the court must decide whether lying about being a war hero is merely socially inappropriate or a crime.
The case the Supreme Court is considering involved David Perelman, a veteran who served in Vietnam in 1971 for three months and returned home uninjured. Twenty years later, he accidentally shot himself. He filed a disability claim with the U.S. Air Force that said he was wounded in Vietnam.
Perelman, now 58, received a Purple Heart and other battle medals, along with $180,000 in disability benefits. He wore his Purple Heart during conventions of veterans.
A government investigation later revealed the false claim. He was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to felony theft of government funds. He also was convicted under the Stolen Valor Act.
Perelman does not deny that he lied about having earned a Purple Heart. He argues on appeal that the Stolen Valor Act is too broad to be enforceable in any intelligent way.
He also says the law goes too far by seeking to penalize constitutionally-protected free speech.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco disagreed, saying Perelman was properly convicted under the Stolen Valor Act.
The appeals court said falsely bragging about winning medals is purely speech that is protected under the First Amendment.
However, when the imposters put on medals or claim veterans' benefits, they have taken actions that can incur criminal liability.
The 9th Circuit ruled the government can regulate speech and expression if it advances an important government interest.
In the same way the government can restrict who wears its military uniforms, it also can limit the people who wear its medals, the court said.
Perelman's attorneys said the Stolen Valor Act could be used to punish widows who wear their husbands' medals to their funerals or children who wear their fathers' medals to school.
However, the 9th Circuit said the Stolen Valor Act was never intended to punish innocent displays of someone else's medals. It is intended to punish only the fraud involved in falsely claiming to win military honors.
The Supreme Court is expected to announce whether it will hear Perelman's case as soon as Monday.
The Stolen Valor Act also came into play recently in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania, where Vietnam veteran Terry Calandra admitted that his decade long effort to win a Medal of Honor was a sham.
He claimed to have dove onto a grenade during a March 23, 1969 battle in Vietnam to save a buddy.
An Army and FBI investigation of his claims found that he arrived on the scene after the fighting was over.
Federal prosecutors wrote that Calandra lied "because he liked how it felt to be a hero, that it boosted his ego and was an addiction."
Calandra, 62, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to violating the Stolen Valor Act. He was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $500.
He also was ordered to surrender a fake Silver Star medal, Distinguished Service Cross medal and two Purple Heart medals he obtained through acts of fraud.
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) - The Supreme Court met Friday to discuss which cases it will hear, among them a challenge to the Stolen Valor Act. The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 is a federal law that forbids falsely claiming to have received U.S. military decorations and medals. A conviction can lead to six months in jail, unless the defendants lie to say they received Medals of Honor, which can get them a year of imprisonment.
When President George W. Bush signed the law, there were 120 living Medal of Honor winners but many others who falsely claimed to have won the award. About 60 people have been prosecuted for violating the law since it was enacted.
Former Navy SEAL Don Shipley, who tries to expose phony war heroes, told ABC News the Stolen Valor Act has uncovered a large number of imposters.
"I can't even keep up with the amount of fraudulent claims and phony SEALs," Shipley said. "Guys who haven't ever considered doing this are coming out of the woodwork, and we're nailing them as fast as we can."
The question before the Supreme Court is whether the law oversteps the First Amendment's right to free speech. In other words, the court must decide whether lying about being a war hero is merely socially inappropriate or a crime.
The case the Supreme Court is considering involved David Perelman, a veteran who served in Vietnam in 1971 for three months and returned home uninjured. Twenty years later, he accidentally shot himself. He filed a disability claim with the U.S. Air Force that said he was wounded in Vietnam.
Perelman, now 58, received a Purple Heart and other battle medals, along with $180,000 in disability benefits. He wore his Purple Heart during conventions of veterans.
A government investigation later revealed the false claim. He was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to felony theft of government funds. He also was convicted under the Stolen Valor Act.
Perelman does not deny that he lied about having earned a Purple Heart. He argues on appeal that the Stolen Valor Act is too broad to be enforceable in any intelligent way.
He also says the law goes too far by seeking to penalize constitutionally-protected free speech.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco disagreed, saying Perelman was properly convicted under the Stolen Valor Act.
The appeals court said falsely bragging about winning medals is purely speech that is protected under the First Amendment.
However, when the imposters put on medals or claim veterans' benefits, they have taken actions that can incur criminal liability.
The 9th Circuit ruled the government can regulate speech and expression if it advances an important government interest.
In the same way the government can restrict who wears its military uniforms, it also can limit the people who wear its medals, the court said.
Perelman's attorneys said the Stolen Valor Act could be used to punish widows who wear their husbands' medals to their funerals or children who wear their fathers' medals to school.
However, the 9th Circuit said the Stolen Valor Act was never intended to punish innocent displays of someone else's medals. It is intended to punish only the fraud involved in falsely claiming to win military honors.
The Supreme Court is expected to announce whether it will hear Perelman's case as soon as Monday.
The Stolen Valor Act also came into play recently in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania, where Vietnam veteran Terry Calandra admitted that his decade long effort to win a Medal of Honor was a sham.
He claimed to have dove onto a grenade during a March 23, 1969 battle in Vietnam to save a buddy.
An Army and FBI investigation of his claims found that he arrived on the scene after the fighting was over.
Federal prosecutors wrote that Calandra lied "because he liked how it felt to be a hero, that it boosted his ego and was an addiction."
Calandra, 62, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to violating the Stolen Valor Act. He was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $500.
He also was ordered to surrender a fake Silver Star medal, Distinguished Service Cross medal and two Purple Heart medals he obtained through acts of fraud.
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