Stacy McCain is reporting from his undisclosed location that Aaron Walker has essentially had his constitutional right of free speech restored. It’s amazing what a competent judge who doesn’t suggest alley justice can do.

Judge Nelson W. Rupp Jr. presided over today’s hearing, with attorney Reginald W. Bours IIIrepresenting Walker, who did not attend the hearing at Judicial Center in Rockville. In a brief telephone interview, Walker said that Kimberlin filed a counter-motion that did not address the First Amendment legal issues at stake, but rather “made a bunch of new accusations” against Walker.

UPDATE II: It is important to note that Judge Rupp’s ruling only temporarily permits Walker to speak and write about Kimberlin, pending a July 5 hearing in Maryland state appeals court. Walker is appealing a May 29 ruling by Montgomery County District Court Judge C.J. Vaughey that granted a peace order sought by Kimberlin against Walker.

There’s more at The Other McCain. Convicted felon Kimberlin apparently trumped out a raft of new accusations against Walker, which is par for the course with him, but he may be finally running into a lawfare wall, with several prominent right-of-center attorneys offering Walker pro bono legal assistance. Part of Kimberlin’s schtick is to file lawsuits to drag opponents into expensive litigation to defend themselves. Take that cost away, though, and Kimberlin’s weapon has less bite. Righthaven ran into a similar problem once EFF started taking on the burden of defending bloggers against its copyright trolling lawsuits, and is now in all kinds of trouble. EFF were heroes then; Eugene Volokh has emerged as a hero in the Kimberlin saga.

Patterico is hinting of something “interesting” to come in the Walker case.