Aggravated Identity Theft - A Great Issue Right Now for Legal Writing Problems

The Statutory Construction Blog informs us that the U.S. Supreme Court has just granted cert. in a case that will decide whether identity theft requires that you take the identity of a real person.  The case is Flores-Figueroa v. United States, No. 08-108. The issue is whether to In order to prove aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1), must the government show that the defendant knew that the means of identification he used belonged to another person.  Courts have split when the identity assumed was that of someone simply created out of the air rather than that of another person. 

What does this mean?  Right now it's a great issue for legal writing problems.  You have a split among the circuits and a great issue that students will enjoy writing about.

Hat tip to the Statutory Construction Blog.

(mew)