The Commissioner of the New York Department of Health summarily suspended a radiologist's license after finding him guilty of four incidents of professional misconduct. During that summary suspension, the commissioner issued two press releases: one announcing the suspension and asserting that the radiologist was incompetent, the other claiming that the radiologist's incompetence rose to the level of criminality and may have caused patient deaths. The Board's hearing committee eventually determined that the radiologist had not engaged in professional misconduct and restated his license.

The radiologist sued the commissioner in her individual capacity for violation of the radiologist's substantive due process rights, defamation, and various other state law violations. The claims were dismissed by the district court, which found the commissioner to have absolute immunity. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed, finding that the commissioner was entitled only to qualified immunity. The court also reinstated the radiologist's substantive due process claims based on its finding that the commissioner's statements were within her role as commissioner, and thus were not "unauthorized."