Trackergate: The First Amendment Fights Back as Schieve and Hartung Face the Music

Here’s the situation, folks: today, April 8, 2025, at 10:00 AM PDT, the Nevada Supreme Court in Carson City will hear oral arguments in a case that’s less about GPS trackers and more about the soul of free speech. John Doe, a concerned citizen who dared to hire a private investigator to sniff out corruption among Reno’s elite, namely Mayor Hillary Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung, is fighting to keep his anonymity. The elected duo, backed by their legal posse, wants his name dragged into the spotlight, claiming their “privacy” trumps his First Amendment rights. Spoiler alert: the Constitution isn’t buying it, and neither should you. Buckle up, this one’s a doozy.

Let’s recap the stakes. Our previous reports laid it bare: David McNeely, the PI in question, slapped GPS trackers on Schieve and Hartung’s cars before Nevada even dreamed up a law to ban it. Assembly Bill 356 didn’t hit the books until July 1, 2023, long after McNeely’s sleuthing. Legal? Check. Authorized by Doe? Nope, he just wanted intel on alleged corruption, not a live feed of their grocery runs. Yet Schieve and Hartung, clutching their pearls, turned this into a crusade, with the Sparks PD playing lapdog and Judge David Hardy cheerleading from the bench. They’re not after justice, they’re after vengeance, and they’re betting on the courts to unmask Doe and silence dissent. Good luck with that.

Enter John Doe’s latest filing, a December 2024 reply to Schieve and Hartung’s whining. It’s a legal haymaker, and it lands square on the jaw. Doe’s team, led by Jeffrey Barr, argues that hiring a licensed investigator to probe public officials is as American as apple pie, protected by the First Amendment’s guarantees of speech and petition. The Ninth Circuit’s

Perry v. Schwarzenegger test is the gold standard here: Doe’s shown his rights are at risk, and the plaintiffs haven’t come close to proving his identity is “highly relevant” to their flimsy claims. Schieve and Hartung moan they can’t depose him or dig into his life without his name. Boo, hoo. Courts let pseudonyms fly all the time, deal with it. This isn’t about discovery, it’s about intimidation.

And let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the law wasn’t even broken! Doe didn’t plant trackers, he hired a pro to investigate. McNeely’s methods, creepy or not, were kosher at the time. Schieve and Hartung lean on cases like

Dietemann v. Time, Inc. to paint Doe as a privacy, invading villain, but that dog won’t hunt. In

Dietemann, a reporter trespassed into a home, Doe didn’t step foot near anyone’s property. He’s more akin to the attorney in

Tichinin v. City of Morgan Hill, where a California court said hiring a PI to check out public officials is straight, up protected speech. Checkmate.

Here’s where it gets juicy. Three separate individuals, yes, three, have approached your humble

Nevada Globe, each claiming they’ve got the goods on Schieve and Hartung. They’re itching to testify if this circus hits trial, eager to spill what they call the “real story” about these so, called public servants. Corruption? Backroom deals? Wild private

lives? Crazy crimes? Pay for play? They say it’s all there, and they’re praying it goes to trial so the truth can claw its way out. If discovery opens that Pandora’s box, Hillary Schieve and Vaughn Hartung might regret they ever filed this suit. Imagine the scene: lines of witnesses waiting to get on the stand, photo’s flashing across screens, people hanging on every word of testimony, and Reno’s public servants squirming as their dirty laundry airs out. Pass the popcorn. We hope it goes to trial. We’ll be there every day bringing it all to you!

Now, the other side’s scrambling. Schieve and Hartung’s attorneys, looking at you, Adam Hosmer-Henner, want us to believe this is about their “privacy rights.” Please. These are public officials, not reclusive poets. They signed up for scrutiny when they ran for office. And who’s footing their legal bill? Still no answers. Is it donors? The firm itself? The lack of transparency stinks worse than a Vegas dumpster in July. Meanwhile, Judge Hardy’s refusal to recuse himself, despite alleged relationships and ties to these two and their pals, raises eyebrows. This isn’t a courtroom, it’s a kangaroo court.

If the Nevada Supreme Court caves and outs Doe, the fallout’s apocalyptic. Every Nevadan with a grudge against a crooked politician will think twice before digging for truth. Hire a PI? Better lawyer up first, because your name’s fair game. Snap a photo at a council meeting? Hope you like subpoenas. This isn’t just about Doe, it’s about every citizen’s right to hold power accountable without becoming a punching bag. The First Amendment isn’t a suggestion, it’s a shield, and Doe’s wielding it like a champ.

Prediction time: Schieve and Hartung are banking on their clout to steamroll this, but they’re playing with fire. If the court sides with Doe, and it should, given the law and precedent, they’re toast. If it doesn’t, and this heads to trial, those three tipsters, and God only knows how many more there are that gave Doe the reason to investigate in the first place, might just turn their victim act into a public flogging. Either way, the truth’s got a nasty habit of surfacing, and these two might find themselves wishing they’d left well enough alone. Stay tuned, Nevada, this one’s far from over, and the fireworks are just getting started.

Tune in LIVE at 2:30 PM and watch the hearing:

https://www.youtube.com/@nevadasupremecourt4190

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