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5:01 AM…..but that’s not fair. This came in at 2:47 AM. I randomly woke up at 4 AM, saw it, and called her to talk about it. Now, an hour later, I’m thinking about coffee and some thoughts I want to share.

CV 2026-002304- UNDER ADVISEMENT RULING 02/23/26

You can read the ruling for yourself. I really don’t need to add much to what the judge said. Obviously, she “got it”. Completely. Thank god.

What I want to add is this — if anyone has fought to protect the First Amendment, it’s me. I spent YEARS defending two websites that were broadly hated — TheDirty.com and RipoffReport.com.

Between 2007 and 2019, TheDirty.com was sued 42 times. I defended every one of those cases. In doing so, I argued (in most instances) the First Amendment protected my client’s right to say rude/nasty things. And I won every single contested case.

I won a case where my client posted nudes of a young Fox News reporter (with the nudity redacted, but still implied). Gauck v. Karamian, 805 F.Supp.2d 495 (W.D.Tenn. 2011).

I won a case where my client posted insulting comments about a woman saying he didn’t want to have sex with her because “it looks like she just had a baby.”  Dyer v. Dirty World, LLC, 2011 WL 2173900 (D.Ariz. 2011).

I won case after case after case. I sang the praises of the First Amendment. Judges agreed with me all across the country. I made bags of money. I was respected as a First Amendment expert.

But along the way, I also had to look into the faces of people who were seriously hurt by speech. I sat through two separate week-long jury trials in federal court in Kentucky, listening to a very bright young woman (who was literally a convicted felon) talk about how her life was destroyed by comments posted on my client’s website. I lost the second trial, but won a MASSIVE victory on appeal. After that win, my client and I flew to Vegas and got wasted celebrating in a strip club. We felt like kings. My client boasted that he personally “saved the Internet” (even though I did all the work).

Along the way, over 15+ years of non-stop winning, I eventually realized something — winning isn’t all that matters. Sometimes there’s a higher purpose. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

The First Amendment does protect speech, but there’s a limit. At some point, you have to accept the fact that yes, you do have the right to express your views. No question. But at some point, that freedom ends. You can’t joke about taking a bomb on an airplane. You can’t joke about wanting to kill the president. And at some point, you can’t say things that repeatedly terrorize another person. That’s not free expression. It’s criminal harassment.

And even if you could harass and terrorize someone, you shouldn’t.

Look – I have a big mouth. I have talked as much shit as anyone. Probably more. I like the fact I live in a country that allows freedom of speech (bearing in mind – the AZ Bar wants to pull my license based on things I’ve said, so clearly not everyone believes speech is always free).

My point is this — in JFC’s righteous march to seek justice and breadsticks, some people have forgotten an important point. We are all human beings. Laura is a human being. She has made mistakes. We all have. And yes, mistakes warrant criticism. Sometimes a lot of criticism.

But there is a line. There is a limit. And there are consequences when you cross the line.

Expressing cruel, vile, hateful, violent comments, over and over and over and over and over, directed towards a single person who is already struggling. I’m sorry, but as a guy who loves the First Amendment and has fought tirelessly to protect it….at some point, the hate goes too far. You have a right to speak. You do not have a right to torture. You do not have a right to strike fear into another person. You don’t.

In this case, it went WAAAY too far. And as a result, a judge just agreed: Laura was credible, and the speech in question was completely out-of-bounds, even in a country that prioritizes speech. Think about that.

Next steps? Pretty simple.

First, the court awarded fees (or at least allowed me to apply for them). So that’s nice. $650/hr.? Maybe more.

Second, this order could be appealed…but it won’t be. Why not? Because as a practical matter, you cannot appeal factual rulings. You can only appeal legal mistakes.

This ruling was based on the facts, not the law, although the judge got the law 100% right. There is no legal error to appeal here.

Does this spell doom for JFC as a whole? Surely not. But it should serve as a wake up call to anyone who thinks the Internet is a lawless cesspool where you can spread endless hate without consequence. That’s wrong.

And if you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to test me. I’ll gladly come educate you, and you will almost certainly lose — as long as the case is heard by a judge who is not trying to impress her dad, sitting in the next room.

So keep talking about this case. Keep talking about me. Keep the breadsticks coming. But while you are talking, remember something — kicking someone else, especially when they’re down, isn’t nice. And you may eventually get kicked in return.

Try to have a heart. Try to show some mercy and grace. Try to realize that when you spread hate, your words aren’t just words. They are weapons that can hurt other people.

And sometimes you just end up hurting yourself.