The court of appeals reversed a district court judgment and remanded. The court held that the Stolen Valor Act, which proscribes falsely verbally claiming to have received the Congressional Medal of Honor , is facially invalid under the First Amendment. The court held further that the Act was unconstitutional as applied to a public official who falsely claimed to have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Having been newly-elected to a water district board of directors, Xavier Alvarez introduced himself at a public meeting by declaring that he was a retired marine who had won the Congressional Medal of Honor. That was false; Alvarez was never a marine, and he never was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
