Excerpt
MARGARET WARNER (Newshour): Today's case stems from a claim made in 2007 by Xavier Alvarez, an elected member of a California water district board. He introduced himself at a public meeting by saying he was a retired Marine, and adding:
XAVIER ALVAREZ, Three Valleys Municipal Water District Board Member: Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy."
MARGARET WARNER: None of it was true. Alvarez was charged with violating the 2006 Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to lie about having received a military decoration.
Alvarez was fined and sentenced to probation and community service. He appealed, arguing the law violated the First Amendment. And the Ninth Circuit ruled in his favor.
Also today, in a case widely watched in the American West, the court ruled unanimously in favor of a Montana power company in a dispute over who owns the riverbeds of three Montana rivers. The justices threw out a state court order that the PPL Montana company pay the state some $50 million for using the riverbeds for hydroelectric plants and dams.
For more on both cases, we are joined by Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal.
Being retired military, needless to say, I do think that falsely claiming to have a military decoration (especially the Congressional Medal of Honor) is a crime in general and under the Stolen Valor Act. It IS sealing from those of us who have actually earned our decorations.
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