The National Coalition Against Censorship, joined by the ACLU of Louisiana, Duke Law First Amendment Clinic, Electronic Frontier Foundation, First Amendment Clinic at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship, the Media Institute, Clare R. Norins, the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, Amanda Reid, and the Rutherford Institute, filed an amicus brief in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Detiege v. Jackson. Maya Detiege sued Louisiana state Sen. Katrina Jackson after Jackson blocked her on social media, allegedly violating her First Amendment rights. The restrictions on the censorship of speech proscribed by the First Amendment only apply to government action, and the lower court found that the senator did not have authority to speak on behalf of the state as an individual legislator. The lower court therefore dismissed the suit because Detiege failed to state a First Amendment claim. Detiege has appealed to the Fifth Circuit.
The brief argues that the Fifth Circuit should reverse the lower court’s ruling that the case failed to establish state action. Allowing the ruling to stand would effectively mean that plaintiffs could never bring First Amendment claims against legislators of multimember bodies absent proof of collective action by the entire legislature, which would only exist in exceedingly rare circumstances. The court should recognize that legislators have authority to speak on behalf of their offices even if those views are not reflective of the legislature as a whole. Ruling otherwise would grant immunity to legislators for First Amendment violations committed on social media. The court should instead look to custom and usage to determine whether state action exists. Here, looking at who runs and funds a legislator’s social media account is indicative of whether state action was present, such that the First Amendment applies.
Amici are represented by the Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic at Vanderbilt University Law School.
Read the full Amicus Brief here:Click here for a full-screen view: