Brekke v. Wills

Dean Wills (defendant) met Danielle at school when both were teenagers. After the two began a dating relationship, Danielle’s grades declined, she had behavioral issues, and she skipped school. Danielle’s mother, Beverly Brekke (plaintiff) restricted Danielle’s ability to see Wills. Concerned that Danielle was using drugs, Brekke searched Danielle’s room. There, Brekke found disturbing letters from Wills that instructed Danielle on how to retaliate against Brekke. Brekke told Danielle that she could no longer see Wills. Wills then wrote three “vile and vitriolic” letters to Danielle with the expectation that Brekke would find and read them. The letters related a plan to provoke Danielle’s father into attacking Wills so that Wills could sue the parents for money and another plan in which Danielle and Wills would murder Brekke and her husband so that there was “no trace” of the parents. One letter, which included a greeting to Brekke, used grossly obscene language (“fuck you in the ass” or “rape yourself you psychotic fucking whore”) and insinuated that Wills had been sexually intimate with Danielle. Brekke did not necessarily believe Wills’s threats of murder but believed that Wills was mentally imbalanced and irrational and thus unpredictable in his behavior. Brekke felt harassed and annoyed by Wills’s conduct. Wills’s father did not think Wills could physically hurt anybody but acknowledged that Wills had had a hard time controlling his emotions. Brekke sued Wills to obtain a temporary restraining order and injunction. Following a hearing, the trial court issued a no-contact order requiring Wills to stay at least 20 feet away from Danielle at school and at least 100 yards away from her otherwise. Wills appealed, arguing that the order violated his First Amendment rights and should have an expiration date.