Trummel v. Mitchell, No. ______ (Wash. Super. Ct., King County 2002).

Status: Contempt citation reversed

Paul Trummel was sent to jail in February 2002, after he refused to comply with the judge’s order to remove from his website (http://www.contracabal.net) the names and addresses of the administrators of the low-income senior citizens’ residence in Seattle where he had lived ("Council House"). He ended up spending 111 days in jail.
He was released in June 2002 after Judge Doerty revised the order to prohibit Trummel from coming withing 500 feet of Council House.
The Washington intermediate appeals court upheld the order of contempt, but the Washington Supreme Court reversed. Trummel v. Mitchell, 131 P.3d 305 (Wash. March 30, 2006).

Trummel still faces six charges for violating Judge Doerty’s order and failing to appear in court, and there is a warrant for his arrest. His whereabouts are unknown, even to his attorney, but he is apparently reachable by e-mail and was still updating his websites in early April 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3659307/

http://www.politechbot.com/2006/04/04/washington-supreme-court/