An appeals court recently ruled that a mother may be banned from posting about her children and ex-husband on Facebook. According to Mycentraljersey.com, "[t]he restriction on what she [the mother] could say on Facebook was imposed after her ex-husband's family and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office argued that the mother's maniacal postings were frightening, saying that they referenced Book of Revelation in the Bible, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Satan and Adolf Hitler."
In the initial ruling the judge stated, "You can talk about what you want to talk about, but don't reference (your husband) or the children," The woman claimed that the restriction was a prior restraint.
On the surface, this sounds like a clear cut First Amendment violation; however, it appears that
the court imposed the special condition with the purpose of advancing the mother's rehabilitation. The woman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was arrested in May 2011 after trying to take her children to Canada in violation of a custody order. She pled guilty to interference with custody and in return it appears that the prosecution dropped kidnapping charges.
The bottom line is that infringing on one's First Amendment rights is a slippery slope. Taking away someone's right to freely express themselves is not something that should be done without weighing other options. It would not surprise me if these types of cases become more commonplace in the future.
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