Lindke v. Freed

Decided March 15, 2024. Amy Coney Barrett delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 22-611 · 601 U.S. 187 (2024) · Cited 77 times

Holding

A public official who prevents someone from commenting on the official’s social-media page engages in state action under 42 U. S. C. §1983 only if the official both (1) possessed actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf on a particular matter, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social-media posts.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Griffin v. Maryland · 378 U.S. 130 (1964)
• Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co. · 457 U.S. 922 (1982)
• Blum v. Yaretsky · 457 U.S. 991 (1982)
• Screws v. United States · 325 U.S. 91 (1945)
• West v. Atkins · 487 U.S. 42 (1988)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• United States v. Classic · 313 U.S. 299 (1941)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Graham v. Connor · 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co. · 419 U.S. 345 (1974)
• Flagg Bros., Inc. v. Brooks · 436 U.S. 149 (1978)
• Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co. · 500 U.S. 614 (1991)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Marsh v. Alabama · 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
• Reitman v. Mulkey · 387 U.S. 369 (1967)
• Home Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. City of Los Angeles · 227 U.S. 278 (1913)
• Gilmore v. City of Montgomery · 417 U.S. 556 (1974)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2024). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).