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Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski

Chike Uzuegbunam at the U.S. Supreme Court
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Summary

In 2016, Georgia Gwinnett College officials stopped student Chike Uzuegbunam not once, but twice, from peacefully sharing his Christian faith with fellow students on his college campus. First, officials said he had to get advance permission to use one of two tiny speech zones that made up far less than 1% of the campus and were only open 10% of the week. Despite following these policies, Chike was again prevented from speaking. After ADF challenged the unconstitutional policies, Georgia Gwinnett argued that Chike’s speech should receive no constitutional protection, changed its policy, and claimed it should be able to avoid any penalty for violating Chike’s free speech rights. Two courts agreed, but the Supreme Court decided to hear Chike’s case and ruled in his favor.

Related Articles

Chike Uzuegbunam Supreme Court building
Colleges and Universities Are Threatening First Amendment Freedoms
April 3, 2023
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Chike Uzuegbunam was punished for speaking on Georgia Gwinnett College’s campus. His case went all the to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Victory! Supreme Court Rules for College Student Silenced from Sharing the Gospel
May 11, 2022
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Protesters shout down ADF General Counsel Kristen Waggoner at Yale Law School.
ADF General Counsel Kristen Waggoner Harassed at Yale Law School Event
March 21, 2022
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Press Releases

Commentary

Case Documents

Court
Title
Date
Trial Court
Stipulation of Dismissal
6/22/2022
Trial Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division order
12/22/2021
U.S. Supreme Court
Opinion
3/8/2021
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioners - American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Institute for Justice
9/29/2020
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioners - American Humanist Association
9/29/2020
More Documents

Additional Resources

One-page summary

Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Adam Liptak: A College’s ‘Free Speech Areas’ Face Supreme Court Review (The New York Times, 2020-08-17)

John Bursch: Supreme Court to decide if constitutional rights are only valuable when a price tag is on them (Washington Times, 2020-07-15)

Matt Lamb: New Supreme Court case could make it easier for students to defend free-speech rights (The College Fix, 2020-07-14)

Travis C. Barham: Georgia College Remains Unchastened For Saying Handing Out Pamphlets Is ‘Disorderly Conduct’ (The Federalist, 2020-04-27)

Chike Uzuegbunam: Atheists, Jews, Muslims, Catholics all asking Supreme Court to defend rights my college violated (Daily Wire, 2020-04-07)

Case Profiles

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Kristen Waggoner
CEO, President, and General Counsel
As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based organization in advancing the God-given right to live and speak the truth in the U.S. and around the world.
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John Bursch
John Bursch
Senior Counsel, Vice President of Appellate Advocacy
John Bursch is senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom.
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Tyson Langhofer
Tyson Langhofer
Senior Counsel, Director of Center for Academic Freedom
Tyson Langhofer serves as senior counsel and director of the Center for Academic Freedom with Alliance Defending Freedom.
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