When the libertarian group Institute for Justice was asked by a New York Times reporter for a copy of its friends-of-the-court brief in the First Amendment case of Siobhan Reynolds, it had to decline, citing the fact that the document had been sealed by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. But that wasn’t the only ironic twist to the free-speech case, as Reynolds herself faced the prospect of a gag order being imposed on her for speaking out on behalf of two doctors in Kansas who were prosecuted for overprescribing pain killers to patients who later overdosed on them.

 

During the trial of Stephen J. Schneider and his wife, Linda K. Schneider, Reynolds publicly defended the medical professionals. The U.S. Attorney in Kansas, Tanya J. Treadway, requested a gag order be placed on Reynolds, but when the judge refused to approve the motion, the federal prosecutor instead issued “a nuclear bomb of a subpoena” to the activist, demanding documents, e-mails, phone records, checks, bank records, credit card receipts, photographs, videos and Facebook communications. Reynolds fought the subpoena, resulting in the trial judge imposing daily fines on her and her group, The Pain Relief Network, bringing “ruin” to both, she says.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide next week whether it will hear Reynolds’ case.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Outspoken Activist’s Case Becomes Tangled in Secrets (by Adam Liptak, New York Times)

Siobhan Reynolds’ Petition for Writ of Certiorari (U.S. Supreme Court) (pdf)