When Chike Uzuegbunam, a student at Georgia Giwnnett College,
But college administrators told him he could only talk about Jesus
in one of the school’s tiny “free speech zones.” Chike complied, but
campus police still ordered him to stop.
officials rescinded the restriction, claiming “no harm no foul.” A court
dismissed the
lawsuit.
But on Monday the Supreme Court decided by 8-1 that Chike could seek
nominal damages. As ADF general counsel Kristin Waggoner noted, officials
at public
institutions “shouldn’t get a free pass for violating constitutional rights
on
campus or anywhere else . . . [and then] face no consequences, it leaves
victims without recourse, undermines . . . constitutional rights, and
emboldens the government to engage in future violations.
This Message from the Supreme Court to universities is crystal clear.
It’s a message they need to be clear about. Free speech is not to
be squelched.
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