Fifth Circuit Holds Judge Can Block Attorney From His Facebook Page

The Fifth Circuit upheld a lower court decision that Harris County, Texas, probate judge Michael Newman did not violate the First Amendment rights of attorney Randall Kallinen when he blocked the lawyer from his Facebook page. The panel, comprised of Carl E. Stewart, Kyle Duncan, and Cory Wilson, found Newman’s Facebook page wasn’t an official website maintained under his judicial authority. As such,  it was not an official act when the judge erased Kallinen’s comments from his Facebook page and blocked him.

Additionally, as reported by Law360, there were no allegations that the judge “retaliated against Mr. Kallinen’s negative Facebook comments by disfavoring Mr. Kallinen in litigation pending before his court.”

The panel held that Newman’s Facebook page was used as campaign platform but not to conduct court business:

“While the alleged facts here suggest that Judge Newman often used his page as a campaign tool, they do not support a claim that Judge Newman used his official position to silence Kallinen’s speech, or that Judge Newman’s Facebook page was a function of his official duties,” the panel said. “At best, Kallinen has alleged enough facts to conclude that Judge Newman used his Facebook page strategically to create a favorable impression in the minds of voters.”

Kallinen filed the lawsuit in March of last year after posts to Newman’s page accusing the judge of having “court cronies” and showing favoritism were deleted and he was blocked.

Judge Newman went on to lose his primary last year, and his last day in office was December 31.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].