VOA慢速英语2012 THIS IS AMERICA - Should You Be Jailed Simply for Lying?

THIS IS AMERICA - Should You Be Jailed Simply for Lying?

 

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm June Simms.

Today, we tell about a federal law called the Stolen Valor¹ Act of two thousand five. The Act bars people from claiming they received military honors when they did not. Any violation² is considered a crime.

Recently, the United States Supreme³ Court heard arguments for and against the law. Christopher Cruise went to the court hearing, and has our report.

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Let me begin with some history about the Stolen Valor Act. The Act was proposed in both houses of Congress in two thousand five. The measure easily won congressional approval. It became law after President George W. Bush added his signature in late two thousand six.

There were no congressional hearings on the Act. And the debate in the House of Representatives lasted just twenty minutes.

Some federal judges and free-speech activists⁴ say the law is unconstitutional. They say this case is not about military honors, but about government power. But supporters of the law say it is necessary to protect both the honor of those who have received awards and the integrity of the military honors system. They say the case is about theft -- not about lying.

These competing arguments have made their way to what is sometimes called “the highest court in the land” -- the United States Supreme Court. It was asked whether the government should have the power to jail someone for claiming that they received a military honor when, in fact, they did not. Some observers say the court is really being asked to decide what kinds of lies the federal government can punish. It is a case of free speech versus⁵ government power.

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The case is called “The United States versus Xavier Alvarez.” It all started because of comments made at a public meeting in southern California. Xavier Alvarez had been elected to the board of directors of a local water district. He spoke⁶ to other board members at a meeting in September two thousand seven.

His own lawyers admit that almost everything he said about himself at that meeting - other than his name - was a lie. Alvarez claimed he had been a police officer, a hockey player and an engineer. He said he was secretly married to a famous and beautiful young actress from Mexico. He also said he had even rescued the American ambassador during the Iranian hostage crisis in the nineteen seventies. None of that is true. But it also was not against the law for him to make those claims.

But then Xavier Alvarez said he was a retired⁷ United States Marine⁸. He said he was wounded in battle and had been awarded the Medal of Honor. But Alvarez had never served in the Marines or retired from the armed forces. And he had never earned the country’s highest military honor. When he said he had, he broke the law.

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Lawyers for Xavier Alvarez say he was speaking as an official of an elected body when he lied about the medal. They say this shows he was “engaged in political speech.” And, they say, that kind of speech has always enjoyed “special protection” under the Constitution and court rulings.

There are fewer than ninety people alive who have received the Medal of Honor. Someone apparently⁹ suspected Mr. Alvarez was lying about being one of them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation¹⁰ was given a recording¹¹ of the water board meeting. The FBI investigated and found that Alvarez had not earned any medals, let alone the Medal of Honor. He soon became one of the first people charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act.

He admitted guilt¹² in court with the understanding that he would appeal the ruling. He was fined five thousand dollars and ordered to work without pay for over four hundred hours at a hospital for military veterans. This is known as community service. It is a way that judges can punish those found guilty of violating a law without sending them to prison.

People who violate the Stolen Valor Act can be sent to jail for six months for making claims about receiving lower-level awards. They can be jailed for up to one year for making claims about receiving higher-level awards like the Medal of Honor. However, most people convicted of violating the law are ordered to perform community service and are not jailed.

Xavier Alvarez appealed his conviction to a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel ruled two-to-one that the Act is unconstitutional. Two judges said the law violated the First Amendment¹³ guarantee of free speech. The Chief Judge of the Court said that if the Constitution leaves unprotected all lies, then we would all be considered criminals. Chief Judge Alex Kosinski said we lie for many reasons, and such lying should generally not be punished.

But another judge in a different court said the Stolen Valor Act does not violate the constitution. The judge said “false statements of fact do not enjoy constitutional protection.”

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: On the morning of Wednesday, February twenty-second, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments for and against the law. Lawyers representing each side of the issue presented their arguments. The court’s justices were very aggressive in their questioning of both sides.

Donald B. Verrilli, Junior, represented the government in the case. Mr. Verrilli is the Solicitor¹⁴ General of the United States, the government lawyer who defends federal laws. He was asked by Chief Justice John Roberts whether the government has the power under the Constitution to make any lie illegal.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: “But where do you stop? I mean, there are many things that people know about themselves that are objectively verifiable where Congress would have an interest in protecting. High school diploma. It is a crime to state that you have a high school diploma if you know that you don’t. That’s something you can check pretty easily. And Congress can say: We want people to finish high school. It’s a big thing to have a high school diploma. So we want to make sure nobody goes around saying they do when they don’t. What about that case?”

Later, Solicitor General Verrilli said why the government wanted the Court to find the law constitutional.

GENERAL VERRILLI: “And I, what I think with respect to the government’s interest here and why there is a harm to that interest is that, the point of these medals is that it’s a big deal. You get one for doing something very important after a lot of scrutiny¹⁵. And for the government to say this is a really big deal and then to stand idly by when one charlatan¹⁶ after another makes a false claim to have won the medal does debase the value of the medal in the eyes of the soldiers. It does do that. That is the government’s interest.”

Jonathan Libby is a deputy federal public defender¹⁷. He represented Xavier Alvarez at the court hearing. Mister Libby admitted to the Court that the defendant¹⁸ is a liar¹⁹. He was asked by Justice Samuel Alito if he believed the Constitution protects lies.

JUSTICE ALITO: “But you really think that there is - that the First Amendment - that there is First Amendment value in a bald-faced lie about a purely²⁰ factual statement that a person makes about himself, because that person would like to create a particular persona? ‘Gee, I would, I won the Medal of Honor. I was a Rhodes scholar, I won the Nobel Prize.’ There’s a personal - the First Amendment protects that?”

MR. LIBBY: “Yes, Your Honor, so long as it doesn’t cause imminent²¹ harm to another person or imminent harm to a government function.”

After the hearing, Mr. Libby spoke to reporters.

JONATHAN LIBBY: “Well, it’s not OK to lie, generally. The issue is whether Congress can make it a crime to tell a lie, and the First Amendment would suggest that Congress doesn’t get to decide what we can and cannot say. What we’ve argued is there needs to be harm associated with the lie in order for it to be unprotected under the First Amendment. Here there was no harm as a result of what Mr. Alvarez said…If lies are not protected – have no protection, which is what the government seems to suggest here, then who knows where it could end? If there’s imminent harm that results from the lie, then you know that’s something that Congress has the right to worry about. If there’s not harm, then it shouldn’t matter where you say it or who you say it to.”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: A video of Mr. Libby can be seen on our website, www.voanews.cn. Government lawyers did not speak to reporters following their oral arguments at the Supreme Court.

The Court will announce its decision before the end of June.

If the Court says the Stolen Valor Act is unconstitutional, some members of the House of Representatives are ready. They have proposed a bill that would make lying about receiving a military honor illegal only if the person telling the lie planned to make money from it. That more narrowly-written law might be acceptable to the justices of the Supreme Court.

As for Xavier Alvarez, he was found guilty in two thousand nine of stealing over four thousand dollars in public money. He was sentenced to five years in a California state prison. He was recently freed after meeting conditions for release.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Our program was written and read by Christopher Cruise. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I’m June Simms. You can find transcripts²² and MP3s of our programs at www.voanews.cn. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

12 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

13 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

14 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

15 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

16 charlatan   

n.骗子；江湖医生；假内行

参考例句：

• The charlatan boasted that he could charm off any disease.这个江湖骗子吹牛说他能用符咒治好各种疾病。
• He was sure that he was dealing with a charlatan.他真以为自己遇上了江湖骗子。

17 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

18 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

19 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

20 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

21 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

22 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句