The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with a former Georgia college student who sued his school after it prevented him from expressing religious views in a free-speech zone on campus.


The 8-1 decision, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, said that Chike Uzuegbunam - who was silenced by Georgia Gwinnett College officials even after he had obtained a permit to proselytize and handout religious บทความสล็อตออนไลน์ literature - can seek nominal damages despite the fact that the. school ultimately changed course and Uzuegbunam subsequently graduated.


In a very rare alignment of votes, Chief Justice John Roberts was the lone dissenting justice in the case.


"It is undisputed that Uzuegbunam experienced a completed violation of his constitutional rights when respondents enforced their speech policies against him," wrote Justice Thomas. "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."


Nominal damages - even as little as $ 1, for example - are awarded in cases where a person has been harmed by illegal conduct but not suffered significant financial loss. First Amendment advocates called the decision a win for free speech and religious expression.