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Chike Uzuegbunam, et al. v. Stanley C. Preczewski, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 18-12676 · judgment July 1, 2019

Decided · March 8, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 7% cert probability (95% interval 5%–11%)

Before the decision, about 1.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and an Eleventh Circuit decision below.

Question presented

While a student at Georgia Gwinnett College, Petitioner Chike Uzuegbunam began distributing religious literature on campus. College officials stopped him because he was outside the 0.0015% of campus where "free speech expression" was allowed. When Chike reserved a free speech space and again tried to evangelize, officials stopped him because someone complained which, under College policy, converted Chike's speech to "disorderly conduct" (i .e., "disturb[ing] the peace and/or comfort of person(s)"). Facing discipline if he continued, Chike sued. Another student, Petitioner Joseph Bradford, self-censored after hearing how officials mistreated Chike. Chike and Joseph raised constitutional claims against Respondents' enforcement of their policies, seeking damages and prospective equitable relief to remedy the censorship and chill. After Respondents changed their speech policies post-filing, mooting all equitable claims, the lower courts held that Chike and Joseph did not adequately plead compensatory damages, and their nominal-damages claims were moot. Six circuit s hold that a government's policy change does not moot nominaldamages claims. Two circuits hold such claims moot if the government changes a policy it has never enforced against the plaintiff. The Eleventh Circuit alone holds that, absent compensatory damages, government officials are never liable for violating constitutional rights if they change their policy after being sued. The question presented is: Whether a government's post-filing change of an unconstitutional policy moots nominal-damages claims that vindicate the government's past, completed violation of a plaintiffs constitutional right.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Kristen Kellie Waggoner
Alliance Defending Freedom

For respondent
Andrew Alan Pinson
Office of the Georgia Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
8 cert-stage · 24 merits
(22 supporting pet./neither, 2 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued January 12, 2021 — Kristen K. Waggoner · Andrew A. Pinson. Audio and transcript

Decided March 8, 2021. Opinion by Thomas.

Proceedings

  1. Apr 09 2021
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Mar 08 2021
    Judgment REVERSED and REMANDED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Kavanaugh, J., filed a concurring opinion. Roberts, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion.
  3. Jan 12 2021
    Argued. For petitioners: Kristen K. Waggoner, Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Hashim M. Mooppan, Counselor to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondents: Andrew A. Pinson, Atlanta, Ga.
  4. Dec 21 2020
    Reply of petitioners Chike Uzuegbunam, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  5. Dec 08 2020
    CIRCULATED
  6. Dec 07 2020
    Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
  7. Dec 04 2020
    The record from the U.S. Dist. Court of Northern Dist. of Georgia (Atlanta) is electronic and located on PACER.
  8. Dec 03 2020
    Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit.
  9. Dec 03 2020
    The record from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
  10. Nov 25 2020
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, January 12, 2021.
  11. Nov 25 2020
    Brief amici curiae of District of Columbia, et al. filed.
  12. Nov 25 2020
    Brief amici curiae of National Conference of State Legislatures, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  13. Nov 19 2020
    Brief of respondents Stanley Preczewski, et al. filed.
  14. Nov 16 2020
    Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
  15. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
  16. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Inc. filed.
  17. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Frederick Douglass Foundation, Inc. filed.
  18. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amici curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and Cato Institute filed.
  19. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amici curiae of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, et al. filed.
  20. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed.
  21. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of The Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team of the Religious Freedom Institute filed.
  22. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of The Rutherford Institute filed.
  23. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amici curiae of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, et al. filed.
  24. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty filed.
  25. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. filed.
  26. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Christian Legal Society filed.
  27. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of CatholicVote.org Education Fund filed.
  28. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed.
  29. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Free Speech filed.
  30. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amici curiae of Justice and Freedom Fund, et al. filed.
  31. Sep 29 2020
    Amicus brief of American Humanist Association not accepted for filing. (October 06, 2020 - Corrected version submitted)
  32. Sep 29 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of American Humanist Association filed. (October 7, 2020)
  33. Sep 28 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Public Citizen filed.
  34. Sep 25 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Young Americans for Liberty, Inc. filed.
  35. Sep 25 2020
    Brief amici curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation, et al. filed.
  36. Sep 24 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Moral Law filed.
  37. Sep 24 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Council on American-Islamic Relations filed.
  38. Sep 22 2020
    Joint appendix filed.
  39. Sep 22 2020
    Brief of petitioners Chike Uzuegbunam, et al. filed.
  40. Sep 01 2020
    Joint motion to further extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including September 22, 2020. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is further extended to and including November 19, 2020.
  41. Aug 25 2020
    Joint motion for a further extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
  42. Aug 06 2020
    Joint motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including September 8, 2020. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including October 22, 2020.
  43. Aug 03 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Stanley Preczewski, et al.
  44. Jul 28 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Chike Uzuegbunam, et al.
  45. Jul 27 2020
    Joint motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
  46. Jul 09 2020
    Petition GRANTED.
  47. Jul 08 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/8/2020.
  48. May 05 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/21/2020.
  49. May 05 2020
    Reply of petitioners Chike Uzuegbunam, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  50. Apr 22 2020
    Brief of respondents Stanley Preczewski, et al. in opposition filed.
  51. Mar 30 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 22, 2020.
  52. Mar 27 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 8, 2020 to April 22, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
  53. Mar 04 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of The Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team of the Religious Freedom Institute filed.
  54. Mar 04 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed.
  55. Mar 04 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of CatholicVote.org Education Fund filed.
  56. Mar 03 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed.
  57. Mar 03 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of American Humanist Association filed.
  58. Mar 02 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Young Americans for Liberty, Inc. filed.
  59. Mar 02 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty filed.
  60. Feb 28 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Moral Law filed.
  61. Feb 24 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 8, 2020.
  62. Feb 19 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 4, 2020 to April 8, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
  63. Feb 19 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, Stanley Preczewski, et al.
  64. Feb 13 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, Chike Uzuegbunam, et al.
  65. Jan 31 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 4, 2020)
  66. Oct 28 2019
    Application (19A461) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until January 31, 2020.
  67. Oct 24 2019
    Application (19A461) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 3, 2019 to January 31, 2020, submitted to Justice Thomas.
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