Ostergren v. Cuccinelli
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
615 F. 3d 263, 2010 WL 2891576 (2010)
- Written by Miller Jozwiak, JD
Facts
Betty Ostergren (plaintiff) was a Virginia resident and information-privacy advocate. Virginia state officials (defendants) operated a system that involved publishing land records on the internet without redacting the Social Security numbers associated with the land. To advocate for more privacy, Ostergren obtained the land records and posted them on her website without redacting the Social Security numbers. Ostergren did not list persons’ names next to their unredacted Social Security numbers; instead, she published the entire sets of documents to critique the state’s document-management system. In response, Virginia state officials stated their intention to prosecute Ostergren for publishing the Social Security numbers. Ostergren brought an action in federal court to enjoin the state officials from prosecuting her and argued that the prosecution would violate her First Amendment rights. The district court agreed and granted Ostergren injunctive relief. The state officials appealed. The state officials argued that the only purpose of publishing unredacted Social Security numbers was to facilitate identity theft. Therefore, the state officials argued, the speech was categorically unprotected by the First Amendment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Duncan, J.)
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