From Kallinen v. Newman, decided yesterday by Chief Judge Lee Rosenthal (S.D. Tex.) (consistently, I think, with other such recent cases, and I believe on balance correctly):
Individuals running for judicial offices in states that elect judges often use social media platforms, such as Facebook, as part of their campaigns. The issue in this case is whether that becomes a government-created public forum under the First Amendment. The defendant is a probate judge running for reelection, who used a Facebook page to promote his campaign. The plaintiff is a lawyer who posted three negative comments on the Facebook page. The judge deleted those comments and blocked the lawyer from viewing or posting on the Facebook page. The lawyer sued, alleging that the judge was liable for violating the lawyer's First Amendment rights. The judge has moved to dismiss….
Judge Newman's Facebook page was used to campaign for office, not to conduct the duties of that office. The page showed a "campaign promotion" photograph of Judge Newman, accompanied by the slogan, "Experience Matters." The page listed the contact email [email protected], which is a private campaign address, not an official court email address. The page's subheading included Judge Newman's official title as the Judge of Probate Court No. 2, but that was also the title of the office to which he was seeking reelection. The page's subheading also included the description, "1 of 2 Jewish Probate Court Judges ever elected," which is "consistent with a desire to create a favorable impression of [Judge Newman] in the minds of [his] constituents," not a sign of an official, state-run page. Judge Newman's Facebook page was a reelection campaign social media page that did not bear the trappings of an official state-run account….
