Rossignol v. Voorhaar

Kenneth Rossignol and Island Publishing Company (collectively, Rossignol) (plaintiffs) distributed St. Mary’s Today, a county newspaper that often strongly criticized public officials, including Sheriff Richard Voorhaar and his department. Several deputies who expected that the election-day coverage in St. Mary’s Today would be critical of Voorhaar and other candidates supported by the sheriff’s office organized a plan to form teams and purchase every available copy of St. Mary’s Today in the county. The deputies admitted that the goal was to anger Rossignol and protest his irresponsible reporting. The election-day issue of St. Mary’s Today included critical commentary about various candidates. The night before the election, off-duty sheriff’s deputies in plain clothes drove their personal cars across the county to buy out the newspaper. The deputies paid for and lawfully obtained the newspapers. Rossignol sued Voorhaar in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Rossignol asserted that the deputies violated the First Amendment by suppressing the distribution of St. Mary’s Today in retaliation for its criticism of Voorhaar. The district court found that Voorhaar and his deputies did not act under the color of law, granted summary judgment on the federal claim, and dismissed the state claims without prejudice. Rossignol appealed.