Since the Supreme Court's announcement of the Lindke test in Lindke v. Freed (2024), lower courts have begun to apply the test on their own. This Case Note analyzes how those courts have applied the first prong of the Lindke test to determine whether public actors possessed actual authority to post on social media and considers open questions regarding the finding of actual state authority to post on social media.
At first glance, the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Isaacson v. Mayes (2023) set the stage for the perfect law review student comment. It called out the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Bankshot Billiards, Inc. v. City of Ocala (2011) by name. And the Congressional Research Service listed Bankshot and Isaacson among 2023’s circuit splits. By all accounts, the two circuits had split over a significant issue. They disagreed over whether a party needs to connect its injury to a constitutional right in order to establish standing for claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Only one problem remained: the courts were on the same page. What emerged was the specter of a circuit split.
Consider four different potential plaintiffs.
