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http://content.usatoday.com/communities/...Stories%29

The U.S. Supreme Court is stepping into an emotionally charged dispute over a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about being a war hero, USA TODAY's Joan Biskupic reports.

The case involves the Stolen Valor Act, passed by Congress in 2006, and tests the reach of First Amendment free speech protection even for lies about personal military feats.

The law declares it a crime when anyone "falsely represents himself or herself ... verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States."

Xavier Alvarez of California was convicted of asserting that he had been wounded many times as a Marine and awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military award.

Justice Department lawyers say the law responded to concerns that a ban on the unauthorized wearing of medals was not sufficiently deterring false claims about personal war records.

A trial judge sentenced Alvarez, who never served in the military, to three years probation and imposed a $5,000 fine. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed, based on free speech grounds.

The appeals court said the law -- targeting speech and imposing a criminal penalty -- was subject to the strictest constitutional scrutiny. It concluded the government should have more narrowly tailored the reach of the law by targeting "actual impersonation or fraud."

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the appeals court wrote that "white lies, exaggerations and deceptions ... are an integral part" of life and human interaction.

The court is likely to hear the case early next year.