The law that makes it a crime to lie about military credentials is just five years old, but it’s already been fraught with challenges.
And experts say the law needs a rewrite, or courts will continue to hear claims of First Amendment violations, perhaps ultimately taking the act to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act in 2006. The law makes it illegal for someone to falsely claim to hold military honors or decorations.
But some of those who have faced criminal charges claim the law is unconstitutional, arguing that it violates the First Amendment.
The law “has every good intention behind it,” said Ken Paulson, president and chief executive officer of the nonpartisan First Amendment Center. “But courts have been reluctant to outlaw lying in America. It’s just too prevalent to try to legislate.”
Federal courts that have taken up the claim so far have split on the law’s constitutionality.
A federal judge in Virginia ruled this year that the First Amendment doesn’t protect the false claims the act makes illegal. But the California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found the law unconstitutional last year and another federal appeals court heard arguments in a case this month, after a Colorado judge held that the law violated the First Amendment.
Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., has introduced a bill that narrows the law, making it a crime to lie about military achievements for financial gain.
That approach, Paulson said, would “bypass the free-speech issue” and be unlikely to face constitutional challenges.
At any time, the FBI has 15 to 30 active investigations into Stolen Valor Act complaints, according to spokeswoman Lindsay Godwin.
