Overview
The Vanderbilt Law School Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic filed suit against Tennessee state representative Jeremy Faison on behalf of Tennessee citizen Dean Fox in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Plaintiff brought suit after Representative Faison deleted Mr. Fox’s comments from the official “State Representative Jeremy Faison” Facebook page and blocked Mr. Fox from engaging with the page. The lawsuit asserts that Representative Faison’s actions constituted impermissible viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.
In moving for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the social media blocking, the Clinic relied on the Sixth Circuit’s recent articulation of the “state-official test” in Lindke v. Freed to argue that operating the official Facebook page constituted state action because the page’s administration related to Representative Faison’s “actual or apparent duties” and “couldn’t happen in the same way without the authority of the office.” See Lindke v. Freed, 37 F.4th 1199, 1202–04 (6th Cir. 2022). Therefore, the First Amendment’s prohibition against viewpoint discrimination on public forums protects Mr. Fox’s right to post comments on and otherwise engage in public discourse on the official page. See Davison v. Randall, 912 F.3d 666, 687 (4th Cir. 2019).
Filings
- 10/25/22 – Plaintiff’s Reply to Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- 10/18/22 – Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- 9/15/22 – Plaintiff’s Memo in Support of Preliminary Injunction
- 9/15/22 – Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- 9/6/22 – Plaintiff’s Complaint
Press Coverage
- 9/22/22 – An MTSU professor is suing Tennessee’s Republican caucus chairman for blocking him on Facebook
- 9/16/22 – Stockard on the Stump: Democratic Caucus chair, House Speaker trade barbs in run-up to session
- 9/14/22 – Lawmaker sued after blocking someone on Facebook
- 9/12/22 – Professor sues Tennessee state rep over Facebook block
- 9/12/22 – MTSU professor sues Rep. Faison for blocking him on Facebook
- 9/12/22 – MTSU professor sues State Rep. for blocking him on Facebook, claims First Amendment violation