Summary: The Case Of Abel Fields

In the year 2011, Abel Fields, a California resident spoke at a meeting about public safety, saying that his previous military experience gave him the knowledge to speak to the people with authority. Fields claimed that he served in the military for eight years and received the Purple Heart, a prestigious medal. Later, it was found that Fields was lying. All the claims he made about serving in the military and receiving the Purple Heart were false. Because he lied, Fields was prosecuted and convicted under the Stolen Valor Act. A person that is guilty of violating the Stolen Valor Act could receive a fine, imprisonment up to six months, or both penalties. He was found guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000. Fields appealed his decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court of

Fields, Abel Fields is not guilty, and should not be convicted under the Stolen Valor Act. The Stolen Valor Act is unnecessary because the government may “forbid speech, solely because it is a lie, even if the lie does not harm anyone or anything. Field’s lie did not harm anyone, so he should not be convicted. Also, the first amendment’s original purpose is to empower the public to use free speech. In the case of New York Times v. Sullivan, The New York Times printed an advertisement that accused Montgomery, Alabama police of misconduct, but a lot of the information was wrong, so Police Commissioner, Sullivan sued the Times. The judgement in favor of Sullivan was overturned, and the Times could not be convicted of libel because the courts must prove that a person has acted with malice when making a false statement. The New York Times had the right to make false claims because they were not acting with malice. Also, in Texas v. Johnson, Gregory Johnson was convicted of burning a flag and his conviction was overturned because the “law cannot limit freedom of speech just because the thing being said is offensive or disagreeable to