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Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
United States v. Alvarez
Citation:
567 U.S. 709 (2012)Facts
Xavier Alvarez, while attending his first public meeting as a board member of the Three Valley Water District Board in California, introduced himself by falsely stating: “I’m a retired marine of 25 years. I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy.” In reality, Alvarez had never served in the military. This false statement was part of a pattern of lies Alvarez had told about himself, including claims that he played hockey for the Detroit Red Wings and had married a Mexican starlet. The government prosecuted Alvarez under the Stolen Valor Act, which made it a crime to falsely claim receipt of military decorations. Alvarez challenged the constitutionality of the Act on First Amendment grounds, arguing that it represented an impermissible content-based restriction on speech.
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