Court Affirms Dismissal of Lawsuit Against State’s Attorney and Others

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Todd Reardon, a former candidate for State’s Attorney in Coles County, Illinois, against various public officials, including the incumbent State’s Attorney, Jesse Danley.

Reardon’s lawsuit stemmed from three events: a subpoena for his Facebook data, the removal of a Reardon campaign sign, and the Mattoon Chief of Police’s endorsement of Danley on Facebook. Reardon alleged violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The court found that Reardon’s allegations did not sufficiently support his claims. In the case of the Facebook subpoena, the court ruled that the judge who issued the subpoena was acting in his judicial capacity and that Reardon had not shown that declaratory relief was unavailable to him. Regarding the removal of the campaign sign, the court found that Reardon failed to show that the Coles County Board member who removed the sign was acting under color of state law. As for the Facebook endorsement, the court found that Reardon failed to provide any authority to support his claim that the endorsement violated the Constitution.

The court concluded by affirming the judgment of the district court, effectively dismissing Reardon’s lawsuit.