Buchanan v. Crisler
| Decision Date | 22 February 2018 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 337720 |
| Parties | BUCHANAN v. CRISLER |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Mallory, Lapka, Scott & Selin (by Keldon K. Scott ) for Stacia Buchanan.
J. Nicholas Bostic for John K. Crisler.
Before: Cavanagh, P.J., and Hoekstra and Beckering, JJ.
In November 2016, petitioner, Stacia Buchanan, obtained an ex parte personal protection order (PPO) against respondent, John Crisler. Crisler filed a motion to terminate the PPO, and his motion was denied in March 2017. Crisler now appeals as of right the denial of his motion to terminate the PPO. For the reasons explained in this opinion, we vacate the trial court's order to the extent it relates to Crisler's online postings, and we remand for a determination of whether Crisler's posts violated MCL 750.411s(1). In all other respects, we affirm.
Buchanan is a licensed Michigan attorney. In 2011, she was appointed by the 55th District Court to represent Crisler against a criminal charge of misdemeanor domestic violence. Following a jury trial, Crisler was convicted. Buchanan represented Crisler through sentencing, but she withdrew from the case before the matter of restitution had been resolved because of a breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.
Crisler was highly dissatisfied with Buchanan's representation during the criminal proceedings. After Buchanan withdrew from Crisler's criminal case, Crisler made efforts to communicate this dissatisfaction to Buchanan personally and to broadcast his dissatisfaction on the Internet. Crisler's first such contact with Buchanan occurred on November 10, 2011, when Crisler sent Buchanan an e-mail, which stated:
Buchanan responded to this e-mail on the same day, informing Crisler that she no longer represented him and that his e-mail was "unnecessary and unwanted." Buchanan instructed Crisler not to e-mail her again.
Over the next several years, Crisler repeatedly posted comments about Buchanan on his website, on Facebook, and occasionally in the comments sections of online news articles. Briefly stated, in these various online postings, Crisler expressed his dissatisfaction with Buchanan's representation during the criminal proceedings. Crisler believed that Buchanan, along with the prosecutor and district court judges, had "planned" his conviction, and his postings constitute a long list of complaints about Buchanan's performance as his attorney as well as allegations against the district court judges and the prosecutor.
In 2012, Buchanan received e-mails from two strangers, informing her of Crisler's online postings. In particular, on August 16, 2012, someone named Michael Scally e-mailed Buchanan to inform her that Crisler had made a number of defamatory posts about her on the Internet. Scally's e-mail contained links to Internet postings by Crisler. Similarly, on October 7, 2012, someone named Charles Grashow e-mailed Buchanan to ask whether she was aware of what Crisler was posting about her online. Grashow's e-mail contained a link to Crisler's website and a suggestion that Buchanan "go thru it—a fun read." Both Scally and Grashow were strangers to Buchanan.
On February 28, 2013, Crisler again e-mailed Buchanan directly, sending a message with links to his Facebook page and website. The message stated:
Aside from Crisler's electronic postings and messages, Buchanan had a few in-person contacts with Crisler beginning in April 2015, when Buchanan "ran into" Crisler in the parking lot of the courthouse. Crisler did not approach Buchanan, and they did not speak. However, later that day, Buchanan received an e-mail from Facebook, informing her that she had been "tagged" by Crisler. Buchanan immediately adjusted her Facebook privacy settings to prevent Crisler from tagging her in the future.
Beginning in April 2015, Buchanan also noticed Crisler at various running races in which she participated. Initially, nothing occurred at these races between Buchanan and Crisler to make Buchanan uncomfortable. However, on May 6, 2016, Buchanan again saw Crisler in person at a race. According to Buchanan, when the race started Crisler "ran past" her and "got right in front of" her "so that there was no other runner between" them. Eventually, Crisler slowed down enough that Buchanan was able to pass him and finish the race. After the race, Crisler walked by Buchanan and brushed her arm with his arm. On July 31, 2016, Buchanan saw Crisler at another running race. Crisler did not approach Buchanan, but Crisler "brushed elbows" with Buchanan's husband during the race.
During this time, Crisler's Internet postings continued, and several individuals known to Buchanan alerted her to Crisler's online postings. For instance, in June 2016, Buchanan received a telephone call from a fellow lawyer, informing her that "there was more stuff going on Facebook." In August 2016, Buchanan received an e-mail from another attorney, who informed Buchanan that Crisler had posted several messages about her on Facebook. In October 2016, a prosecutor contacted Buchanan to inform her that Crisler had posted statements about her on the Facebook page of Billie Jo O'Berry, who was, at that time, running for office. In November 2016, Buchanan also received a text message from a probation officer, telling her that there were additional postings about her by Crisler in the comments section of an online newspaper article reporting on how "little work" is done by court-appointed defense attorneys.1
In July 2016, Buchanan sent Crisler a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that Crisler cease and desist all defamation of Buchanan as well as all harassing or intimidating conduct. Buchanan asserted in the letter that Crisler's written statements on Facebook and his website were false and defamatory, and Buchanan requested a written retraction. Additionally, Buchanan indicated that Crisler's e-mailing her, tagging her on Facebook, and intentionally making physical contact with her in a public place were acts of "harassment and threats." Buchanan indicated that any additional attempt to contact Buchanan "via e-mail, orally or otherwise will be considered harassment and stalking."
On October 15, 2016, Crisler posted the contents of Buchanan's cease-and-desist letter on Facebook. Crisler stated that, since receiving the letter, he had "not Ceased, nor Desisted, in openly publishing the truth about how [Buchanan] purposely sold me out...." Crisler also provided commentary on the letter, stating that he was "so happy" when he received the letter in July and that he was "excited at the prospect" of a lawsuit by Buchanan. Crisler indicated that he had not provided a retraction to Buchanan. He went on to deny all allegations of defamation and to again recount his list of grievances against Buchanan. Crisler also advised his readers not to hire Buchanan as an attorney, noting "[s]he may do to you what she did to me."
In November 2016, Buchanan petitioned the circuit court for an ex parte PPO. In her petition, Buchanan asserted that Crisler stalked her as defined in MCL 750.411h and MCL 750.411i by approaching or confronting her in a public place and sending her mail or other communications. Additionally, relying on MCL 750.411s, Buchanan maintained that Crisler "post[ed] a message" about her through the use of any medium of communication, including the Internet or a computer. Buchanan requested an ex parte order to prevent Crisler from engaging in these activities. On November 9, 2016, the circuit court granted Buchanan's petition and entered an ex parte order prohibiting Crisler from (1) "approaching or confronting [Buchanan] in a public place or on private property," (2) "sending [Buchanan] mail or other communications," and "(3) posting a message through the use of any medium of communication, including the Internet or a computer...."
On November 21, 2016, Crisler moved to terminate the PPO. A hearing on Crisler's motion was held on January 30, 2017, and March 15, 2017. In seeking the termination of the PPO, Crisler maintained that his postings about Buchanan's asserted misconduct in representing him during his criminal trial were true. Crisler maintained that he had a First Amendment right to post the truth about what happened in his criminal case. On the basis of his contention that his online speech was constitutionally protected, Crisler maintained that under MCL 750.411s(6) his postings could not be enjoined. In support of his argument, Crisler attempted to introduce evidence and testimony relating to the truth of his Internet postings. However, the trial court excluded this evidence, concluding that it was irrelevant, for purposes of MCL 750.411s, whether the posts were true.
Following the hearing, the trial court issued a written opinion and order denying Crisler's motion to terminate the PPO. Relying on MCL 750.411h(1), MCL 750.411i(1), and MCL 750.411s(1), the trial court determined that Crisler stalked Buchanan and that Buchanan was entitled to a PPO under MCL 600.2950a(1). The trial...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Lindke v. King
...under which a trial court could issue a PPO to enjoin cyberstalking by proxy in violation of Section 411s. Those decisions were Buchanan, supra, and TM v. MZ, 926 N.W.2d 900 (Mich. App. 2018). decisions made clear that a circuit judge could not issue a PPO to prevent cyberstalking by proxy ......
-
ARM v. KJL
... ... text) are "contacts" between the sender and ... recipient. See Adams v State , 594 S.W.3d 884, 891 ... (Ark App, 2020); Buchanan v Crisler , 323 Mich.App ... 163, 902-903; 922 N.W.2d 886 (2018); cf Majumdar v ... Fair , 567 F.Supp.3d 901, 911 (ED Ill. 2021) ... ...
-
DWJ v. CLB
..."the information relates to a public figure and an important public concern," a PPO may not be issued to restrict the speech. Buchanan, 323 Mich.App. at 188-189. "[S]peech on public issues occupies the highest rung the hierarchy of First Amendment values, and is entitled to special protecti......