Harris Kane of the heartland hollar blog has a great question regarding Michael Gableman’s argument that he has a first amendment right to lie in TV campaign ads:
Micheal Gableman’s lawyer made the argument today that judges have a first amendment right to lie to voters.
Do people have a first amendment right to lie to judges?
I’d love to see a defendant convicted of perjury try Gableman’s defense in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, just to see what kind of response said defendant gets.
Gableman did not make that argument, nor is that his defense.
Yes, there is a First Amendment right to lie because the Government does not have the right to prevent speech on the basis of its content. And Yes, there are also consequences for lying. If you lie to a judge when under oath to tell the truth, you can be convicted of perjury for violating your oath. If you commit fraud, there are consequences. If you lie to the public in an ad, there are consequence. But your First Amendment right to lie must be preserved and the Government cannot prevent you from speaking just because it disagrees with what you are saying. And if you are a liar, it will become know and you will pay the consequences for your lie.