BREAKING: Supreme Court Won't Let a College off the Hook for Suppressing Free Speech, the Only Dissenting Opinion Is JOHN ROBERTS

Chike Uzuegbunam, a Christian student at Georgia Gwinnett College, had sued his school after the college prevented him from preaching the gospel and handing out religious tracts due to its excessive speech codes, which limited free speech to 0.0015 percent of campus. Uzuegbunam sued, demanding an injunction and nominal damages. 

At first, the school defended its policy and claimed that Uzuegbunam’s preaching “arguably rose to the level of ‘fighting words.'” Then the college reversed, dropping the challenged policies. 

Both the district court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that since the college had dropped its restrictions, the case was moot. Yet Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas ruled that a demand for nominal damages can save a lawsuit from becoming moot. 

“For purposes of this appeal, it is undisputed that Uzuegbunam experienced a completed violation of his constitutional rights when respondents enforced their speech policies against him. Because ‘every violation [of a right] imports damage,’ nominal damages can redress Uzuegbunam’s injury even if he cannot or chooses not to quantify that harm in economic terms,” Thomas wrote in the majority opinion for Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski (2021). 

Justices Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined in Thomas’ ruling. Kavanaugh filed a concurring opinion. 

Only Chief Justice John Roberts dissented. 

GO READ THE WHOLE THING.

So, we have a decision on a very fundamental First Amendment issue. An issue so fundamental and clear cut that all the Justices agreed, EXCEPT FOR JOHN ROBERTS.

EXCEPT FOR JOHN ROBERTS.

EXCEPT FOR JOHN ROBERTS.