On January 4, 2013, JJK/LLC obtained a Court Order dissolving an injunction against two entertainers who obtained damaging admissions from a Port St. Lucie man who had molested a child some thirty (30) years ago.
The two popular ‘stand up’ comedians, Doug Stanhope and Andy Andrist, had staged an “ambush interview” of the molester, by luring him to an interview in a public venue near the molester’s home on November 2, 2012. During the interview, the Port St. Lucie man acknowledged that he had sexually assaulted Andrist in California in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, when Andrist was 11-14 years old.
The molester had never been apprehended, arrested or prosecuted, as the time period to seek criminal and civil penalties had long ago expired.
The purpose of the interview was for Andrist to achieve closure of the event, as well as to let the world know that “the nice man in the gated community” in St. Lucie County had a lurid, criminal past, as well as to encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and confront their tormentors.
Unbeknownst to Stanhope and Andrist, the Port St. Lucie man applied for and obtained an “ex parte injunction”, i.e., a Court Order issued in secret, with no notice given to the parties, that prohibited them from publicizing, or otherwise disseminating, any results or recordings of the interview, to any and all persons, everywhere. [1]
Andrist and Stanhope retained JJK/LLC to assist in getting the Injunction “dissolved”. A lengthy motion detailing the precise circumstances of the ambush interview, as well as the molestation, was filed within days, and an Emergency Hearing was scheduled in the St. Lucie County Circuit Court.
Andrist and Stanhope, residents of Oregon and Arizona, respectively, flew back to Florida in order to attend the hearing. The molester likewise was present.
Four days following the hearing, Circuit Judge Dan L. Vaughn issued his order Dissolving the Injunction. [2] The improperly obtained Injunction was dissolved, the citizens’ right to Freedom of Expression was preserved, and a child molester will have his long-held secret revealed.
For an independent news analysis covering the story, please go here:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2013/jan/07/judges‑ruling‑allows‑comedians‑to‑release‑video/
[1] Florida law permits the issuing of an Injunction without notice in certain limited circumstances. It does NOT however, permit issuing an injunction that acts as a prior restraint to Freedom of Speech per the Florida and U.S. Constitutional guarantees of Freedom of Expression. The Injunction was obtained improperly.
[2] Judge Vaughn also issued an Order denying the molester’s motion to hold Stanhope, Andrist and their lawyer, Jay Kirschner, in Contempt of Court for filing the Motion to Dissolve, which the Plaintiff claimed violated the ‘spirit’ of the improperly obtained Injunction.
