What you may say

• Your own story, from memory. Courts have protected a parent's from-memory account of their own case — even a critical one — as core protected speech (Shak v. Shak (Mass. 2020); In re Marriage of Molinaro (Cal. 2019); Ga. Ct. App. 2026). What you personally saw and experienced is yours to tell.
• Criticism of the judge. Opinion and even harsh criticism of judicial conduct is protected (Garrison v. Louisiana); truth is a defense, and honest opinion framed as opinion is not defamation.
• The contents of your own conduct complaint. Punishing a complainant for disclosing their own complaint has been held unconstitutional (Kamasinski v. Judicial Review Council (2d Cir. 1994); Doe v. Fla. JQC) — though some states' commission-correspondence rules differ; check your state's commission page, since this varies by state.

What you may not share — the enumerable list

• Juvenile/CPS case files. Disclosing child-welfare case files or reports is a crime in several states (CA W&I §827; FL §39.205; NY SSL §422) — this is criminal exposure, not just contempt.
• Custody evaluations and GAL reports. Their contents are confidential (CA Fam. §3111; the Anka sanction reached $50,000). Describe your own observations, not the evaluator's document.
• Sealed and adoption material — sealed means sealed, in every state.
• Discovery-sourced documents. Materials you only have because of discovery are often use-restricted (Seattle Times v. Rhinehart; Candiotti).
• Anything a live gag or protective order covers. Violating an order is contempt even when what you said is true — the order controls until a court changes it.
• Threats. Threatening language is criminally chargeable regardless of how justified you feel (Brewington).
• Child-identifying detail. The restriction courts consistently uphold (S.B. v. S.S. (Pa. 2020)) — names, birth dates, schools, and identifying combinations. See the jigsaw problem below.

The jigsaw problem, in one example

None of these three details identifies a child alone: "I'm a nurse" · "in Placer County" · "my six-year-old has a rare seizure disorder." Together, anyone in that community can work out exactly which family this is — and from there, the child. That is jigsaw identification, and it is why safe writing generalizes at least one piece: the county becomes "my county," the occupation drops out, or the diagnosis becomes "a medical condition." Our preparation tool flags these combinations automatically, but the principle is yours to apply everywhere you speak.

Your complaint is privileged. Your press release is not.

A complaint filed with your state's judicial conduct commission generally carries legal privilege — you cannot be sued for defamation over what you told the commission. Repeating the same allegations to a journalist or on social media is your own public speech: protected as honest opinion and truthful account, but not privileged. The practical rule: file first, speak deliberately, and frame public statements as your own experience and opinion. Find your state's commission and its filing requirements through the accountability channel navigator.