Constitutional Law
Sep. 11, 2012
Stolen valor and prosecutorial discretion
If the analysis of the constitutionality of a law is affected by the prosecutor's choice of whom to prosecute, does this influence the exercise of prosecutorial discretion?
2nd Appellate District, Division 2
Brian M. Hoffstadt
Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal
UCLA School of Law, 1995
In United States v. Alvarez, 132 S. Ct. 2537 (2012), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in its entirety the Stolen Valor Act, which made it a federal crime to lie about receiving certain military honors. The defendant in that case was Xavier Alvarez, and he falsely claimed to be a Medal of Honor recipient - not to obtain a government contract or to commit fraud - but rather as a boast at a local water district board meeting in what the Supreme Court called a "pathetic attempt to g...
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