I'm not surprised at the 9th Circus, wonder what the SCOUS will do, if appealed

[retdetsgt]

Appeals court: Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional

Aug 17, 10:06 PM (ET)

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - A three-year-old federal law that makes it a crime to falsely claim to have received a medal from the U.S. military is unconstitutional, an appeals court panel in California ruled Tuesday.
The decision involves the case of Xavier Alvarez of Pomona, Calif., a water district board member who said at a public meeting in 2007 that he was a retired Marine who received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration.
Alvarez was indicted in 2007. He pleaded guilty on condition that he be allowed to appeal on First Amendment grounds. He was sentenced under the Stolen Valor Act to more than 400 hours of community service at a veterans hospital and fined $5,000.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with him in a 2-1 decision Tuesday, agreeing that the law was a violation of his free-speech rights. The majority said there's no evidence that such lies harm anybody, and there's no compelling reason for the government to ban such lies.
The dissenting justice insisted that the majority refused to follow clear Supreme Court precedent that false statements of fact are not entitled to First Amendment protection.
The act revised and toughened a law that forbids anyone to wear a military medal that wasn't earned. The measure sailed through Congress in late 2006, receiving unanimous approval in the Senate.
Dozens of people have been arrested under the law at a time when veterans coming home from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are being embraced as heroes. Many of the cases involve men who simply got caught living a lie without profiting from it. Almost all the impostors have been ordered to perform community service.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said it was deciding whether to appeal Tuesday's ruling.

My Way News - Appeals court: Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional

[Trip]

What? Yea, that's the 9th Circus for ya. It's amazing how many people do that btw.

[Samuel]

Fuc&ing IDIOTS!

[Creeker]

Next up: Impersonating Police Officers law ruled a Violation of free speech rights...

I'm telling you we are in Alice's Wonderland.

[Rlong1985]

Why do people continue to make up these claims?

[retdetsgt]

Why do people continue to make up these claims?

To make themselves feel important.

There is a group of former SEALS who track down and expose people who falsely claim they were SEALS. I stumbled across the website several years ago.

[retdetsgt]

I'm telling you we are in Alice's Wonderland.

The 9th Circus has been that as far back as I can remember. They always assign three judges to each case and stack it with two liberal and one not so liberal. Nearly all their decisions are 2 to 1.

It has 15 judges on it. There's been a movement for years to split its jurisdiction because it's so huge, but no one on either side of the aisle has been willing to take it serious.

[Trip]

Fuc&ing IDIOTS!

Tell us what you REALLY think, Samuel.

Next up: Impersonating Police Officers law ruled a Violation of free speech rights...

I'm telling you we are in Alice's Wonderland.

You're spot on, Creek~

[retdetsgt]

I don't know what it is with appeals courts out here. The Oregon state appeals court comes up with bizarre rulings all the time and are reversed by the supremes.

The case I talked about in the Discovery Channel thread was one. They threw out some testimony regarding a statement made by the victim just prior to the murder saying it was hearsay..... That left us all scratching our heads. They didn't throw out the convictions, saying there was enough other evidence, but the state took it to the state supreme court to get them overruled before that caused problems in other cases.

Maybe they do it intentionally to keep each other in business, I dunno.

[Trip]

I don't know what it is with appeals courts out here. The Oregon state appeals court comes up with bizarre rulings all the time and are reversed by the supremes.

The case I talked about in the Discovery Channel thread was one. They threw out some testimony regarding a statement made by the victim just prior to the murder saying it was hearsay..... That left us all scratching our heads. They didn't throw out the convictions, saying there was enough other evidence, but the state took it to the state supreme court to get them overruled before that caused problems in other cases.

Maybe they do it intentionally to keep each other in business, I dunno.

Hmmm, now there's a rational explanation...

[Joeyd6]

That is what happens when our President and many of our Congressional and Representatives look at the military with disgust.