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Scott Howard Meyer v. Emily Peterson

Paid petition · Court of Appeals of Minnesota, No. A18-1185 · judgment May 20, 2019


Certiorari denied · February 24, 2020
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

The legal question presented in this case arises under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution: When two parents are involved in an ongoing and contentious custody battle over a minor child, does one parent have a First Amendment right to criticize the other parent’s parenting style and to threaten litigation and public disclosure of prior misconduct without the risk of arrest, criminal prosecution, and incarceration? And, on a related note, can state courts regulate and criminalize such speech and expression through prior restraints (harassment restraining orders) without violating the First Amendment? This Court should grant certiorari in this case to resolve and provide guidance on these important constitutional questions.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Zorislav Romanovich Leyderman
The Law Office of Zorislav R. Leyderman

For respondent

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Feb 24 2020
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 22 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2020.
  3. Nov 01 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 9, 2020)