Utah Court Strikes Down Injunction Banning Speech "Annoy[ing] or Caus[ing] Distress" to Neighbor Running a Mental Health Residential Treatment Center,

Utah Court of Appeals Judge Gregory K. Orme , joined by Judges Ryan M. Harris and John D. Luthy .

Ragsdale is the founder and owner of the Eva Carlston Academy , a treatment center for adolescent girls.

ECA opened a location at the end of a cul-de-sac in a Salt Lake-area neighborhood in 2013 .

The court upheld much of the order, but reversed part of it on First Amendment grounds.

The prohibition on annoying and causing distress focuses solely on the impact any speech or expressive conduct by Fishler would have on Ragsdale .

Fishler is already enjoined from contacting Ragdale in any manner either directly or indirectly.

The prohibition against annoying or causing distress does not withstand strict scrutiny because it is not the least restrictive means of furthering "the state's compelling interest in protecting its citizens".