Mark Steyn: The Gag Order Heard Round The World

...I've been told by various experts in America's "justice" system that I shouldn't risk incurring the wrath of judges by talking about them.

We'll see how that pans out. But I'm heartened by the stirring example of Lou Pelletier, a Connecticut father who took his sick daughter to hospital in Boston only to have her kidnapped by the tinpot tyrants of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. That was a year ago. Since then he has been under a "gag order" imposed by Suffolk County judge Joseph Johnston. Initially, Mr Pelletier abided by the terms of the gag order, and didn't talk about what had happened to his daughter. Only when he broke the order and began discussing the case on TV and radio did the tide begin to turn. Judge Johnston's first reaction was to threaten Mr Pelletier with contempt of court. But by now the issue was not the behavior of the parents but the behavior of DCF and a crappy third-rate judge getting away with it under cover of darkness. Once Mr Pelletier threw off his gag order, neither Johnston's nor DCF's behavior could withstand the cleansing sunlight of media scrutiny. Justina Pelletier has now been returned to the care of her doctors, and her father's gag order has been lifted - but only after his own courage had rendered it meaningless. Had he maintained his deference toward a judge unworthy of it, his daughter would still be a hostage of DCF. There's a lesson for all of us there...