 The questions during Verrilli 's argument focused on the lack of injury caused by false claims of military honors . In nearly all the cases that the United States cited to support the proposition that there is no First Amendment value in falsity , the Court had addressed a false statement that harmed another , such as a defamatory statement . Relying on these cases , Verrilli stated , " [ T ] his Court has said in numerous contexts , numerous contexts , that the calculated factual falsehood has no First Amendment value for its own sake . " Justice Anthony Kennedy immediately retorted : 
