Fusaro v. Cogan
| Decision Date | 12 July 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 18-2167,18-2167 |
| Citation | 930 F.3d 241 |
| Parties | Dennis FUSARO, Plaintiff – Appellant, v. Member Michael R. COGAN, Maryland State Board of Elections ; Member Emmet C. Davitt, Maryland State Board of Elections ; Member Patrick J. Hogan, Maryland State Board of Elections ; Member Kelley A. Howells, Maryland State Board of Elections ; Member Gloria Lawlah, Maryland State Board of Elections ; Member David J. McManus, Jr., Maryland State Board of Elections, Defendants – Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
ARGUED: Stephen Ralph Klein, PILLAR OF LAW INSTITUTE, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Andrea William Trento, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Brian E. Frosh, Attorney General, John R. Grimm, Assistant Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.
Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and KING and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Vacated and remanded by published opinion. Judge King wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Gregory and Judge Floyd joined.
Plaintiff Dennis Fusaro, a Virginia resident, challenges § 3-506 of Maryland’s Election Law, which regulates access to Maryland’s list of registered voters (the "List"). Section 3-506 provides, inter alia, that the State Board of Elections shall provide copies of the List only to registered Maryland voters, and confines use of the List to purposes related to the electoral process. After Fusaro was denied a copy of the List because he was not a registered Maryland voter, he sued the defendant state officials in the District of Maryland, alleging that § 3-506 violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and that the provision’s reference to the "electoral process" is unconstitutionally vague. Fusaro sought a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of § 3-506 as to its registered voter requirement and its restrictions on use of the List. The district court dismissed Fusaro’s complaint and denied injunctive relief on the ground that Fusaro had no First Amendment right to access the List. As explained below, we are satisfied that, with respect to his free speech challenge, Fusaro has stated a claim under the First Amendment. We therefore vacate and remand for further proceedings.
Plaintiff Dennis Fusaro is a resident of and registered voter in Stephens City, Virginia. Fusaro has worked for a number of regional and national political campaigns, and intends to "continue his involvement in elections and political advocacy," including in Maryland. See Fusaro v. Davitt , No. 1:17-cv-03582 at ¶¶ 16-17 (D. Md. Dec. 4, 2017), ECF No. 1 (the "Complaint"). In 2014, Fusaro consulted for a successful campaign for a County Council seat in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. In 2016, Fusaro was charged by the state prosecutor with violating criminal provisions of Maryland’s Election Law in connection with his work in the 2014 campaign. Id . ¶ 1 (citing State v. Fusaro , D-07-CR-16-00734 (D. Ct. Anne Arundel Co.)); see also Fusaro v. Davitt , No. 1:17-cv-03582 (D. Md. Dec. 4, 2017), ECF No. 20-2 ().1
In February 2017, Fusaro was convicted of the alleged Election Law violations after a bench trial in Maryland state court. In August 2017, however, Fusaro obtained a new trial before a jury and was acquitted. Following those events, Fusaro sought to express his displeasure with the state prosecutor by "shar[ing] his story with Maryland citizens" and urging them to seek the prosecutor’s resignation. See Complaint ¶ 2. Fusaro planned to achieve his goal — that is, the prosecutor’s resignation — by mailing copies of a letter criticizing the prosecutor to registered Maryland voters.
The object of Fusaro’s displeasure was defendant Emmett C. Davitt, the Maryland State Prosecutor at all relevant times.2 The State Prosecutor possesses statutory authority to investigate and prosecute violations of Maryland law. See Md. Code Crim. P. §§ 14-107(a), 14-109(a). The State Prosecutor is appointed by the Governor of Maryland, with the advice and consent of the Maryland Senate. Id . § 14-102(c)(1). It is not an elected office.
To facilitate his letter campaign against Davitt, Fusaro sought a copy of Maryland’s list of registered voters. The List is maintained by the Maryland State Board of Elections (the "State Board"). See State Board, Voter Registration Statistics , https://elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/stats.html.
According to the State Board, the List contains the names, addresses, party affiliation, and other personal data of the nearly four million voters registered in Maryland. See Complaint ¶¶ 3-4; see also State Board, Eligible Active Voters on the Precinct Register – By County (Oct. 20, 2018), https://elections.maryland.gov/press_room/2018_stats/GG18_Eligible_Active_Voters_by_County.pdf; State Board, Application for Voter Registration Data , https://elections.maryland.gov/pdf/SBEAPPL.pdf.3 Fusaro planned to use the List to circulate his letter criticizing Davitt and urge Maryland voters to seek his resignation, notwithstanding that Davitt holds an appointed (rather than elected) office.
Pursuing his plan, Fusaro applied for a copy of the List from the State Board in August 2017. The Board promptly rejected Fusaro’s application because he did not satisfy the statutory requirements to obtain a copy of the List. The statutory provisions concerning the maintenance and distribution of the List are codified in Subtitle 5 of Title 3 of Maryland’s Election Law. Section 3-506 governs the dissemination of copies of the List and provides as follows:
See Md. Code Election Law, § 3-506(a), (c). Additionally — and relevant here — § 3-505 of the Election Law makes the voter registration records "open to public inspection" at local offices of the State Board. Id . § 3-505(b)(1). Those records may also be removed from the local State Board office "on order of a court," or "for temporary removal solely for purposes of data processing." Id . § 3-505(b)(2)(ii).
The State Board’s rejection of Fusaro’s application for the List complied with § 3-506. Fusaro’s application included his home address in Virginia. Thus, as the Board explained in its subsequent correspondence with Fusaro, it rejected his application because, under § 3-506, "you must be a Maryland resident and registered voter to request a copy of the voter registration list." See Complaint, Ex. D. Confirming the State Board’s written explanation, Fusaro’s rejected application contains a notation from the Board indicating that the rejection was based on the fact that Fusaro was not a registered Maryland voter. Fusaro does not allege or identify any other reason for the Board’s rejection of his application. Notably, the Complaint does not indicate that Fusaro has ever sought to obtain Maryland voter registration records from a local office of the State Board. Nor does Fusaro allege that he intends to seek Maryland residency and register as a Maryland voter. Fusaro acknowledges that, pursuant to Maryland law, he is not entitled to register to vote in Maryland as long as he remains a resident of Virginia. Id . ¶ 4 (citing Md. Code Election Law § 3-102(a)(1)(iii) ).
Fusaro sued Davitt and various members of the State Board in the District of Maryland on December 4, 2017. Fusaro’s Complaint alleges two challenges against § 3-506. The Complaint first alleges that providing copies of the List only to registered Maryland voters contravenes the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment because it favors "some political speakers" over others, namely, anyone not registered to vote in Maryland (Count I). See Complaint ¶ 30. Second, the Complaint alleges that the prohibition against using the List for any purpose "not related to the electoral process" restricts speech based on content and is unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments (Count II). The Complaint presents each count as both facial and as-applied challenges, and it seeks declaratory and injunctive relief. As attachments to the Complaint, Fusaro included his proposed letter urging Maryland voters to seek Davitt’s resignation; his rejected application for the List; and his correspondence with the Board regarding that rejection.
Shortly thereafter, on December 15, 2017, Fusaro requested a preliminary injunction from the district court. Specifically, Fusaro sought to bar enforcement of the portions of § 3-506 that limit access to the List to registered Maryland voters only, and that prohibit using the List for purposes unrelated to the electoral process. In response, the defendants filed a consolidated memorandum on January 26, 2018, which included a motion to dismiss the Complaint and their opposition to Fusaro’s request for a preliminary injunction.
On September 4, 2018, the district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and denied Fusaro’s request for a preliminary injunction. See Fusaro v. Davitt , No. 1:17-cv-03582 (D. Md. Sept. 4, 2018), ECF No. 26 (the "Opinion"). The Opinion rejected Fusaro’s challenge to § 3-506 as a violation of the Free Speech Clause. Instead, the Opinion determined that § 3-506 merely regulated access to a record created and maintained by the government of Maryland. Relying primarily on the Supreme Court’s decisions in Houchins v. KQED, Inc. , ...
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