GOVERNEMNT

Abel Fields falsely claimed he has received a purple heart for his bravery. He never served in the military. He never received a military reward. He was convicted under the Stolen Valor Act and sentenced to a fine. Fields was found guilty in his first trial. He appealed the sentence. Court of appeals overturned his conviction. The government appealed the decision of court of appeals. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Fields claims the right to lie about this award is protected by the first amendment. Fields did not harm another person through his claim. Fields did not receive anything valuable because of the claim. Prosecutioner claims the lie was made intentionally, so it should not be protected. Lies about the reward damage the integrity of the award. False claims make the award less valuable for actual recipients. In the case New York Times v. Sullivan demonstrates the right to make false statements by ring that public officials cannot be victims of libel unless the speaker acted with malice. In the case Texas v. Johnson demonstrates the right to disagreeable speech by ruling that the Texas law was unconstitutional and had violated Johnsons right to freedom of speech. In my opinion, The freedom of speech is protected by the first amendment. I agree with the prosecutioner in the case of Texas v. Johnson by stating that Johnson’s right to freedom of speech in the first amendment was violated. Even though the state law was violated, the law was unconstitutional by violating the first amendment.
It is important that a state does not violate a citizen’s rights to expression and speech. The first amendment protects those rights. This decision will influence future laws by encouraging the states to avoid making laws that are unconstitutional.
Evaluation Questions:
Does your opinion present information in ways that will engage your audience? Yes
Does your opinion use correct punctuation and grammar? Yes
Does your opinion include language that is appropriate