Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Cincinnati.
No. 1:19-cv-00455—William O. Bertelsman, District Judge.
Argued: May 5, 2022
Decided and Filed: September 20, 2022*
Before: ROGERS, KETHLEDGE, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Carrie Davis raises weighty First Amendment challenges to
two speech restrictions issued by Colerain Township in southwest Ohio. The first restriction
prohibits the public from posting “inappropriate” or “offensive” comments on the police
department’s Facebook page; the second prohibits the public from making “disrespectful”
comments at meetings of the board of trustees. Davis argues that these restrictions have stifled
public debate in a way that conflicts with Supreme Court precedent. No matter the importance
of a legal question, however, we may not answer it except when necessary to decide a live
“Case” or “Controversy” within the meaning of Article III of the Constitution. And Davis has
not raised her free-speech claims in such a case or controversy. She has failed to show that the
Facebook rule has injured her in the past or is likely to do so in the future. The Township has
also repealed the meeting rule. So Davis lacks standing to litigate one of her challenges and her
other challenge is moot. We thus affirm the district court’s judgment for the Township, while
clarifying that we reject these claims for lack of jurisdiction and so without prejudice. |