The Brewer School Department and its legal representatives from the Drummond-Woodsom law firm settled a First Amendment lawsuit on Saturday with the estate of Shawn McBreairty regarding a threat of legal action from Drummond-Woodsom attorney Melissa A. Hewey.
McBreairty tragically died by suicide in June 2024, but his wife, Patricia McBreairty, continued the lawsuit with legal representation from First Amendment lawyer Marc Randazza.
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“We resolved it for quite a large sum. But, I must admit to a small degree of disappointment. Melissa Hewey behaved shamefully, both constitutionally and morally – by threatening our client with an obviously inapplicable criminal statute in the interest of censoring reporting that the government didn’t like,” said Randazza in a statement provided to The Maine Wire.
“I hope that those who persecuted him, especially Melissa Hewey, are unable to ever sleep peacefully again. They should have nightmares about their role in this. I doubt that anyone at Drummond Woodsum has the conscience to actually have nightmares about it, but if they grow one, they should pray at Shawn’s grave for his forgiveness. And knowing Shawn, as I did, he would grant it. Because Shawn was a good person,” he added.
Randazza said that the district settled for a “large sum” with McBreairty’s estate, though he is not at liberty to disclose the full amount.
The settlement came just days before the case was set to go to trial on Monday. Brewer taxpayers will now be forced to foot the bill for their school district’s First Amendment violation.
The lawsuit centered around an email sent to Shawn McBreairty from Hewey on behalf of the Brewer School District, threatening to take legal action against him unless he took down an article he wrote criticizing the district for allowing trans-identifying males into girls’ restrooms.
Hewey’s email accused McBreairty of violating state law and school board policies by using the name and image of a trans-identifying student in his article and threatened him with legal action if he refused to delete the article.
McBreairty’s initial complaint against the district argued that he lawfully obtained the photograph used in his article and had a legal right to publish it. The complaint further argued that the email threatened to attempt to enforce school board policies against McBreairty, despite him not being subject to the board’s jurisdiction.
“That threatening email was from an agent of a governmental entity threatening to take formal legal action against Mr. McBreairty on account of his article, which was speech on a matter of public concern,” said the complaint.
The complaint also accused the Brewer School Department of causing McBreairty emotional distress via Hewey’s threat of legal action.
McBreairty tragically took his own life while legal proceedings remained ongoing.
“This settlement vindicates Shawn McBreairty and his memory, but it won’t bring him back,” said Randazza.
Randazza argued in a court filing that McBreairty’s friend, Haily Keezer, should be allowed to testify that Hewey’s threat contributed to the emotional distress that led to McBreairty’s suicide.
Read Randazza’s full statement below:
We resolved it for quite a large sum. But, I must admit to a small degree of disappointment. Melissa Hewey behaved shamefully, both constitutionally and morally – by threatening our client with an obviously inapplicable criminal statute in the interest of censoring reporting that the government didn’t like.
When Hewey was counsel in this case, she behaved disgracefully, as I said in open court, on the record, when she tried to claim that her email to Shawn McBreairty wasn’t actually a threat of any legal action, despite it being obviously so.
It would have been a greater measure of justice for Shawn for us to put her on the stand, under oath, and see what she had to say for herself under penalty of perjury. I presume that she was worried about that. She weasels out of that now.
What is also unfortunate is that when the government and its politically connected law firm violated the First Amendment, nobody was really held accountable as they should have been. Greg Palmer and Melissa Hewey still have their well compensated positions and the taxpayers pay the bill, not the people who did wrong.
In fact, Hewey and Drummond Woodsum were generously rewarded to defend their wrongs. But, the Court made clear that Hewey and the District were in the wrong and Mr. McBreairty’s speech was protected. This settlement vindicates Shawn McBreairty and his memory, but it won’t bring him back.
I hope that those who persecuted him, especially Melissa Hewey, are unable to ever sleep peacefully again. They should have nightmares about their role in this. I doubt that anyone at Drummond Woodsum has the conscience to actually have nightmares about it, but if they grow one, they should pray at Shawn’s grave for his forgiveness.
And knowing Shawn, as I did, he would grant it. Because Shawn was a good person.
Marc Randazza
