On July 8, 2026, Kitsap County Superior Court Judge William Houser denied a motion seeking to amend an existing restraining order in the case of Mavy v. Tomashefsky. The petitioner requested additional restrictions to prevent the respondent from contacting the petitioner’s minor children and from publishing statements intended to harass, intimidate, or threaten the protected person. The motion also sought to bar the respondent from encouraging third parties to post such statements and from publishing identifying information about the petitioner or the petitioner’s children.
Judge Houser ruled that under the First Amendment, the government, including courts, cannot restrict expression based on its message, ideas, subject matter, or content. The judge noted that exceptions to prior restraint prohibitions are limited to obscenity, incitement to violence, and wartime restrictions. The court found that the proposed language limiting statements intended to harass, intimidate, or threaten was an acceptable narrowing but ultimately denied the motion for additional restraints.
The ruling also referenced legal precedents such as Rodriguez v. Maricopa County Community College District (9th Cir. 2010) and Saxe v. State College Area School District (3d Cir. 2001). Additionally, it was noted that an individual has no constitutional privacy interest in a public record.
This decision means the defendant will not be ordered to stop posting news accounts referencing the ongoing litigation with his ex-wife.
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