Elven Joe Swisher

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Charge:	Theft and Fraud
Sentence:	1 year and 1 day
Years Imprisoned:	0.87
Year Crime:	2001
Year Convicted:	2008
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Idaho - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	Idaho
City of Crime:	Cottonwood
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Former U.S. Marine PFC Elven Joe Swisher was wrongly convicted on April 11, 2008 in federal court in Boise, Idaho of charges related to wearing unauthorized medals. After a one week trial a jury convicted Swisher, and on January 5, 2009 he was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in federal prison, and 3 years of supervised release. Swisher was released on January 10, 2010 after serving his full prison sentence."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On December 11, 2015 the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Swisher's wearing of a fake medal was protected speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and therefore he had not committed a crime."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	71
Age When Released:	72
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"USA V. Elven Swisher, No. 11-35796 (9th Cir., 1-11-2016) "
Information Location 1:	http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/01/11/11-35796.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Wearing unearned medals is protected by 1st Amendment, appeals court rules, By Maura Dolan (Reporter), Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-stolen-valor-act-court-20160111-story.html
Information Source 3:	"United States v. Swisher, 360 F. App’x 784 (9th Cir. 2009) (Affirming conviction on direct appeal)"
Information Location 3:
Information Source 4:	"Idaho man gets prison for stealing vet benefits, By The Associated Press, The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.), January 6, 2009"
Information Location 4:	http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/idaho_man_gets_prison_for_stea.html
Information Source 5:	"Elvin Joe Swisher's Criminal Conviction and Sentence Recommendation, By Roland Hinkson (Investigative Reporter), www.fourwinds10.net, November 3, 2008"
Information Location 5:	http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/judicial_and_courts/news.php?q=1225827767
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Elven Joe Swisher

Charge:

Theft and Fraud

Sentence:

1 year and 1 day

Years Imprisoned:

0.87

Year Crime:

2001

Year Convicted:

2008

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Idaho - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

Idaho

City of Crime:

Cottonwood

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On December 11, 2015 the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Swisher's wearing of a fake medal was protected speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and therefore he had not committed a crime."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

71

Age When Released:

72

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"USA V. Elven Swisher, No. 11-35796 (9th Cir., 1-11-2016) "

Information Location 1:

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/01/11/11-35796.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Wearing unearned medals is protected by 1st Amendment, appeals court rules, By Maura Dolan (Reporter), Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-stolen-valor-act-court-20160111-story.html

Information Source 3:

"United States v. Swisher, 360 F. App’x 784 (9th Cir. 2009) (Affirming conviction on direct appeal)"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

"Idaho man gets prison for stealing vet benefits, By The Associated Press, The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.), January 6, 2009"

Information Location 4:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/idaho_man_gets_prison_for_stea.html

Information Source 5:

"Elvin Joe Swisher's Criminal Conviction and Sentence Recommendation, By Roland Hinkson (Investigative Reporter), www.fourwinds10.net, November 3, 2008"

Information Location 5:

http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/judicial_and_courts/news.php?q=1225827767

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