O”Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
22-324	9th Cir.	Oct 31, 2023	Mar 15, 2024	TBD	Per Curiam	OT 2023

Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit"s judgment " that 42 U.S.C. " 1983"s state-action requirement was satisfied because of the "close nexus" between petitioners" social media pages and their positions as public officials " is vacated, and the case is remanded in light of Lindke v. Freed.

Judgment: Vacated and remanded in a per curiam opinion on March 15, 2024.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Public officials can be held liable for blocking critics on social media (Amy Howe, March 15, 2024)
Justices weigh rules for when public officials can block critics on social media (Amy Howe, October 31, 2023)
Justices consider liability for officials who block critics on social media (Amy Howe, October 30, 2023)
Major Second and First Amendment cases headline November sitting (Amy Howe, October 26, 2023)
Supreme Court sets seven cases for November argument session (Amy Howe, September 6, 2023)
Justices add two cases on liability of officials who block critics on social media (Amy Howe, April 24, 2023)
Is it unconstitutional for an elected official to block critics on social media? (John Elwood, April 20, 2023)
School-board spat raises recurring question: Can government officials block you on social media? (Kalvis Golde, October 28, 2022)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
10/04/2022	Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 7, 2022)
11/02/2022	Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 7, 2022 to December 7, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
11/03/2022	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 7, 2022.
11/29/2022	Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 7, 2022 to December 13, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
12/01/2022	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 13, 2022.
12/13/2022	Brief of respondents Christopher Garnier, et ux. in opposition filed.
12/16/2022	Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.
12/20/2022	Reply of petitioners Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff, et al. filed. (To be recovered - corrected version received and distributed December 27, 2022) (Distributed)
12/21/2022	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/6/2023.
01/04/2023	Rescheduled.
03/14/2023	Supplemental brief of petitioners Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane filed.
03/22/2023	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/14/2023.
04/17/2023	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/21/2023.
04/24/2023	Petition GRANTED.
05/01/2023	Motion for an extension of time filed.
05/05/2023	Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including June 23, 2023. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 8, 2023.
06/23/2023	Brief of petitioners Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane filed.
06/23/2023	Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed)
06/30/2023	Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
06/30/2023	Brief amici curiae of The State of Tennessee, et al. filed.
06/30/2023	Brief amicus curiae of California School Boards Association filed.
06/30/2023	Brief amici curiae of NetChoice, et al. supporting neither party filed.
06/30/2023	Brief amicus curiae of The State of Texas filed.
06/30/2023	Brief amicus curiae of The NRSC filed (also in 22-611). VIDED.
06/30/2023	Brief amici curiae of Local Government Legal Center, et al. supporting neither party filed.
06/30/2023	Brief amici curiae of Electronic Frontier Foundation, et al. filed (also in 22-611). VIDED.
08/08/2023	Brief of respondents Christopher Garnier and Kimberly Garnier filed.
08/15/2023	Brief amicus curiae of Manhattan Institute filed.
08/15/2023	Brief amicus curiae of American Atheists, Inc. filed.
08/15/2023	Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed.
08/15/2023	Brief amici curiae of The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, et al. filed.
08/15/2023	Brief amicus curiae of Protect The First Foundation filed.
08/15/2023	Brief amici curiae of First Amendment Clinics, Citizens and Journalists filed.
08/15/2023	Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
09/06/2023	SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
09/06/2023	Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
09/06/2023	CIRCULATED.
09/07/2023	Reply of petitioners Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff, et al. filed. (Distributed)
09/29/2023	Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The record is electronic and available on PACER.
09/29/2023	Record from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California received electronically and available with the Clerk. Sealed material available with the Clerk.
10/02/2023	Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
10/31/2023	Argued. For petitioners: Hashim M. Mooppan, Washington, D. C.; and Sopan Joshi, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondents: Pamela S. Karlan, Stanford, Cal.
03/15/2024	Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with the opinion in Lindke v. Freed, 601 U. S. ____ (2024). Opinion per curiam.
04/16/2024	Judgment Issued.