Free speech cases before the Supreme Court often lead justices to consider far-fetched scenarios, and Wednesday’s argument over a law making it a crime to lie about having received top military honors was no exception.
One after another, the justices wanted to know whether a decision upholding the Stolen Valor Act could lead down a slippery slope to new laws against such things as lying about the Holocaust, an extramarital affair, a high school diploma, college degrees or to impress a date.
“Where do you stop?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked at one point.
But the justices also suggested that it might be possible in this case to uphold the 2006 law anyway by reasoning that Congress has an interest in protecting medals it created to honor war heroes.
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