Opinion ID: 621667
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Strandlof’s Prosecution

Text: Over a multi-year period, Appellant Rick Strandlof concocted a ruse that plainly put him in the cross-hairs of the Stolen Valor Act. Despite never having served in the armed forces, Strandlof founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance, and he frequently told veterans he graduated from the United States Naval Academy, was a former U.S. Marine Corps Captain, and had been wounded in -3- combat in Iraq. He bragged of receiving a Purple Heart, which is given to soldiers wounded or killed in action, and he boasted that he had been awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. For example, while attending a planning meeting for a luncheon to solicit donations for veterans, Strandlof falsely claimed to have received a Purple Heart. At veterans gatherings, Strandlof used the alias “Captain Rick Duncan,” and he created online profiles where he claimed to have graduated from the Naval Academy. A number of local veterans found Strandlof to be an unconvincing imposter. Angered by Strandlof’s lies, they contacted the FBI and reported their suspicion that “Rick Duncan” was a phony. After military officials confirmed Strandlof never attended the Naval Academy or served in the military, the government filed a criminal complaint in the District of Colorado charging Strandlof with making false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals, in violation of the Stolen Valor Act. Strandlof pleaded not guilty and moved to dismiss the charges. Represented by a federal public defender, he argued the Stolen Valor Act is unconstitutional under the First Amendment, both facially and as applied to him, because it is a content-based restriction on speech. Rejecting the government’s argument that false speech is unprotected under the First Amendment, the district court found the Act facially unconstitutional and granted Strandlof’s motion. United States v. Strandlof, 746 F. Supp. 2d 1183, 1185 (D. Colo. 2010). The -4- court held that false speech is protected by the First Amendment unless it falls within one of the narrow categories of speech that have been historically recognized as exceptional, such as fraud or defamation. Id. at 1186–88. The district court further held the speech criminalized by the Stolen Valor Act was analogous neither to fraud nor defamation, and that it could not be shoehorned into any of the other historical categories. Id. The district court therefore characterized the Act as a content-based regulation of protected speech and held that it did not survive strict scrutiny. Id. at 1189–91.