A federal appeals court on Monday upheld an earlier ruling by three of its members that a law making it illegal to lie about being a military hero violates free speech.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision strikes down the so-called Stolen Valor Act passed by Congress in 2006.

It also vacates a judgment and fines leveled against 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 had never served in Marines or in any other branch of the armed forces, according to the court ruling.

Alvarez was indicted in 2007. He pleaded guilty on condition that he would 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.

Making lies of that sort would implicate "the JDater who falsely claims he's Jewish or the dentist who assures you it won't hurt a bit," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote. "Phrases such as 'I'm working late tonight, hunny,' 'I got stuck in traffic' and 'I didn't inhale' could all be made into crimes," Kozinski wrote in denying a full-court re-hearing of the case.

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav will learn Tuesday whether he will go to jail on a rape conviction in a case that has already made history in Israel.

The former head of state is the highest-ranking Israeli official ever to be convicted of a crime. He faces up to 16 years in prison.

His conviction was seen as a victory for the Israeli legal system and for women's rights in a decades-long struggle to chip away at the nation's macho culture, which once permitted political and military leaders great liberties. At the same time, it left some Israelis equally saddened to see a symbol of the state tarnished.

Katsav was convicted in December of two counts of raping an employee when he was tourism minister in 1998. The court also convicted him of sexual harassment against two other women who worked for him when he was president, from 2000 to 2007.

The presidency is a mostly ceremonial position in Israel, traditionally given to elder statesmen as a reward for a lifetime of public service.

Details surfaced in 2006 when Katsav complained that a female employee was trying to blackmail him. The woman went to police with her side of the story, listing a series of alleged sexual assaults. Other women later came forward with other complaints of sexual abuse by Katsav.

The law firm and the congressional committee that investigated drugs in baseball are fighting pitching standout Roger Clemens over access to evidence collected against him, a development that could delay the trial on charges he lied about being a user.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the firm that produced the Mitchell Report filed motions in federal court in Washington on Friday to quash Clemens' subpoenas. Clemens wants to see their evidence accusing him of using steroids and human growth hormone, likely looking for weaknesses or inconsistencies in witness testimony to defend himself in the criminal trial scheduled for July.

In 2006, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig hired former Sen. George Mitchell and the DLA Piper firm he worked for at the time to investigate allegations that players used drugs. The Mitchell Report issued Dec. 13, 2007, accused several players including Clemens.

The House committee held hearings on the report in February 2008. Clemens testified that he never used performance-enhancing drugs during 23 seasons, in which he recorded 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts and won seven Cy Young awards. Prosecutors say evidence proves that he did and charged him with perjury, false statement and obstruction of Congress.

Clemens wants DLA Piper to turn over material related to its interviews with his longtime personal trainer Brian McNamee, who told investigators he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs; admitted steroid user and retired player Jose Canseco; and former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who McNamee said provided the drugs Clemens used.

The Supreme Court will decide whether government officials who testify falsely while acting as a complaining witness have absolute immunity from civil lawsuits.

The high court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from Charles Rehberg, who sent faxes criticizing the Phoebe Putney Health System, an influential Georgia hospital system. Rehberg was arrested after investigator James Paulk of the Dougherty County District Attorney's office testified to a grand jury that the accountant had harassed doctors.

Paulk, who started the investigation as a favor to hospital officials, later admitted he had no evidence and had not talked to any witnesses. The charges were dismissed.

Rehberg sued, but Paulk says he is protected by immunity because the claims took place while he was working as a government official.

A federal court jury in Massachusetts will be hearing opening arguments in the trial of a man charged with burning down a predominantly black church in Springfield because he was upset that Barack Obama was elected president.

Opening arguments are set for Monday in the trial of Michael Jacques at U.S. District Court in Springfield.

Jacques was among three white men charged with burning down the Macedonia Church of God in Christ just hours after Obama was elected in November 2008. The under-construction church was destroyed, but a new building is nearing completion.

The other defendants pleaded guilty. Jacques could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy against civil rights, damage to religious property and other charges. His lawyer says he's innocent.

A judge has denied a court-appointed attorney for a Texas man accused of torturing a woman for two weeks on a device used for skinning deer.

The judge said Monday during Jeffrey Allan Maxwell's initial court appearance that the 58-year-old wasn't indigent because he had listed his net worth as about $200,000.

Maxwell told state District Judge Trey Loftin that he didn't have access to most of his assets and hadn't contacted an attorney. Loftin urged Maxwell to hire one.

Maxwell remains jailed in Parker County on aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault charges.

Authorities say he abducted his former neighbor from her Parker County home and drove some 100 miles to his Corsicana house. He was arrested there March 12 and the woman was rescued.