Opinion
No. 108,279.
2014-06-20
STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Bryan E. GILE, Appellant.
Both Turner and McCaleb support the proposition that the district court's nonpublication order, if limited to the victims—in this case, the Reins—is a reasonable restriction of the defendant's lawful activities. Such a prophylactic restriction, which would apply only for 24 months, furthers the State's goals of preventing more crime, protecting the victims, and assisting with Gile's rehabilitation. The facts in the present case reveal Gile, too, is obsessed with the Rein family and feels very strongly about what he perceives as wrongs done to his children. These strong feelings, coupled with his expressed determination to publicize alleged damaging facts about the Reins, give rise to the concern that without broader restrictions on Gile—in addition to the standard prohibitions against violating the law and having no contact with the Reins—more crimes could follow and more injury could be inflicted on the victims. Here, the nonpublication order provides a bright-line rule Gile can easily follow. It provides a hedge of protection around the Reins in order to hopefully relieve them of their fears of more trauma; and it provides a deterrence against Gile's obvious obsession with punishing the entire Rein family for the acts of one of its family members, an important rehabilitative goal in this case. The majority's solution simply invites more litigation as the State or the Reins would be required to constantly monitor the content of Gile's statements. If some turn out to be false, both time and money would have to be expended proving their falsity. Such litigation would simply enhance the Reins' trauma and, in the event the Reins undertook a private cause of action for defamation, likely would be fruitless because even if the Reins successfully obtained a judgment, Gile is probably judgment proof given his recently declared bankruptcy. Accordingly, I would affirm that part of the district court's nonpublication order as it relates to the victims, Skip and Barbara Rein, and their former business name.