Margery Wakefield got $200,000 for settling a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology in 1986. In return, Scientology thought it had bought Ms. Wakefield's perpetual silence.

But Ms. Wakefield's been talking, going on Tampa Bay radio twice recently to discuss just these things. In so doing, she's testing not only the wrath of Scientology, but also the will of a federal judge.

Her freedom of speech is at odds with Scientology's demands of silence and U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich's order to stop talking. Ms. Wakefield, 41, knows she could be found in contempt of court, and friends have warned she could be jailed.