Facts

Plaintiffs Tanya Faison and Sonia Lewis were banned from a Facebook page maintained by Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones after posting comments critical of Jones and his handling of the Sacramento Sheriff's Department. Their comments were made in connection with public protests over fatal shootings by sheriff's deputies, and criticized the sheriff's lockout of the county's Inspector General who found fault with the handling of one such fatality.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs claimed the ban was a violation of their First Amendment rights, and sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Sheriff Jones argued that the Facebook page was not an official page or public forum.

Result

The court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiffs, requiring Sheriff Jones to unban them from his Facebook page, retain them in unbanned status, and take no further action restricting their participation.