Medal of Dishonor

Lying about serving in the Marines for 25 years and winning the Congressional Medal of Honor is contemptible. And it also may be criminal, the New York Times reports today.

Legal columnist Adam Liptak describes the case of Xavier Alvarez, an elected member of the board of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District in California. After describing his fictitious service and honors at a board meeting, Alvarez was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about receiving certain military medals.

Alvarez is claiming the First Amendment protects his deception. He's drawing some support for that position among constitutional lawyers, but, it seems, little or no sympathy for the actions that got him in the position he's in.