Hearing Overview

The full protection order hearing between John D. Du Wors and Houston Wade was held on November 6, 2018, at Bainbridge Island Municipal Court. Du Wors sought an Order for Protection against the Bainbridge Bad List and Houston Wade after serving them with an unfiled defamation suit.

Du Wors' Testimony Under Oath

Key portions of Du Wors' testimony (with timestamps from the audio recording):

8:27 - Du Wors begins testimony for order of protection, claiming harassment and stalking because his conduct was publicized

12:00 - Du Wors' emotional statements

12:57 - Du Wors states the publicity caused "tremendous professional and social problems as well as severe emotional distress"

13:30 - List of Du Wors' issues with the content

16:32 - Du Wors on controlling what he sees on Facebook: "I maybe able to"

19:47 - Du Wors claims "mischaracterization"

19:58 - Judge asks: "But is it true you have conviction of imprisonment of a minor and domestic violence?"

Du Wors responds: "in 2012... so yes... ok... so about DV conviction... same thing... so, ok so yes correct... correct"

20:50 - Du Wors attempts redirect: "Here's the thing that your honor should focus on..."

Court's Ruling

The Municipal Court found that in accordance with Moriwaki v. Rynearson, Houston Wade's speech was protected by the First Amendment as it was not proven to be defamatory.

The protection order was denied.

Significance

This hearing produced:

  1. Sworn testimony from Du Wors admitting his criminal convictions
  2. A legal ruling that truthful statements about Du Wors' conduct are protected speech
  3. A public audio recording documenting Du Wors' attempt to suppress criticism

Source Documents

  • Full hearing audio (YouTube: 4Liwg_AA3jY)
  • Related precedent: Moriwaki v. Rynearson