Posted on 08/19/2010 12:11:49 PM PDT by lbryce
Soon polygamy and human-animal partner marriage (a.k.a.) bestiality will be protected as a constitutional right. Forget about Mens and Womens restrooms, a thing of the past. Marriage as an institution between a man and a woman will be gone. If you want to be a throat-slashing, honor-killing Islamic Terrorist with multiple wives, that will be a protected (Sharia) Constitutional right too.
Why do I suspect that if you were to lie about being a LAWYER that somehow the courts would find that impermissible.
Can people lie about being lawyers?
You’re being much too hard on yourself. :-)
They should have said the often overturned United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
It is illegal to claim you are an attorney if you are not. Its illegal to claim you are a doctor if you are not. I don’t see the difference, the courts “logic” escapes me.
Let’s print business cards and put “Judge, United States Courts of Appeals for the Nine Circuit” on them, and give them to every prospective business partner.
“Can people lie about being lawyers?”
No, but they could lie about being FORMER lawyers.
Too bad this came from the ninth. There was a similar one out of Colorado with the same result. The judges in both courts were all Bush, either father or son appointees. I agree with what you’re saying, absent any injury to other parties if we start letting government prosecute speech they will not stop with this law, they’ll move onto even more hurtful and despicable crimes, like criticizing them or their far left wing base.
Stolen Valor Act - In their words
“I’m a retired Marine of 25 years. I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy. I’m still around.”
Xavier Alvarez, at Three Valleys Water District board meeting in July 2007
“Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States, any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration, or medal, or any colorable imitation of such item shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than six months, or both.” (The prison term is extended to one year if it involves the Congressional Medal of Honor.)
Stolen Valor Act, passed in 2007
“Indeed if the (Stolen Valor) Act is constitutional under the analysis proffered by (dissenting) Judge Bybee, then there would be no constitutional bar to criminalizing lying about one’s height, weight, age or financial status on Match.com or Facebook, or falsely representing to one’s mother that one does not smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, is a virgin, or has not exceeded the speed limit while driving on the freeway. The sad fact is, most people lie about some aspects of their lives from time to time.”
Judge Milan D. Smith Jr., writing the majority opinion
“Public discourse requires that citizens are equally free to praise or to condemn their government and its officials, but I can see no value in false, self-aggrandizing statements by public servants. Indeed, the harm from public officials outright lying to the public on matters of public record should be obvious. If the Stolen Valor Act ‘chills’ false autobiographical claims by public officials such as Alvarez, our public discourse will not be the worse for the loss.”
Judge Jay S. Bybee, writing the dissenting opinion
“I am very disappointed to learn of the 9th Circuit decision on Stolen Valor, however I am confident that upon appeal to the Supreme Court, their misguided decision will be overturned. As long as I am in Congress, I will not give up the effort to protect their honor. These fake heroes use lies to claim underserved federal veterans benefits and defraud their communities into believing they are someone they are most certainly not for personal gain. I will continue to fight for the veterans of our country.”
Rep. John Salazar, D-Colorado, who introduced the Stolen Valor Act
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_15820817?source=rss#ixzz0x5agyqWp
It's only illegal to do that if you misrepresent yourself for profit. If you just say you're an attorney but don't act on it it's not illegal. It's still against the law to wear medals then claim monetary or other benefits from it. All the two courts have done is strike down the speech restrictions, which by themselves were enough to get someone convicted.
“we don nee no stinki DD214s”
In my thinking this man ‘stoled’ from the Congress what was not his i.e. the honor and the image of valor due only to certain brave people. The Medal of Honor is not something a person can give to himslf. I agree with the judge that’ most people lie about aspects of their lives....’. This includes, foremost ,lawyers and their spawned offspring the judges all the way to SCOTUSA.
I am a Congressman and I can break any law. /sarcasm
Er, somebody tell this guy (a Congresscritter, Ghu help us) that lying to obtain undeserved federal benefits was already illegal prior to the SVA, and is still illegal after it was struck down.
It is illegal to claim to be a lawyer or a doctor in order to fraudulently sell professional services. It is not illegal to claim to be a lawyer or a doctor in order to (for example) give the cute babe at the bar the impression that you have a lot of money and know exactly how to touch somebody's hot spots. This is as it should be.
Isn't that just a tad redundant? :o)
If the government can't prohibit lying about having a Medal of Honor, how can it prohibit lying to its miserable investigators?
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