Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/19-968_8nj9.pdf
Page Number: 4.0

Cite as:  592 U. S. ____ (2021) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the 
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to 
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that 
corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 19–968 
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CHIKE UZUEGBUNAM, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. 
STANLEY C. PRECZEWSKI, ET AL. 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT 

[March 8, 2021] 

JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court. 
At all stages of litigation, a plaintiff must maintain a per-
sonal interest in the dispute.  The doctrine of standing gen-
erally  assesses  whether  that  interest  exists  at  the  outset,
while the doctrine of mootness considers whether it exists 
throughout the proceedings.  To demonstrate standing, the 
plaintiff  must  not  only  establish  an  injury  that  is  fairly
traceable  to  the  challenged  conduct  but  must  also  seek  a 
remedy that redresses that injury.  And if in the course of 
litigation a court finds that it can no longer provide a plain-
tiff  with  any  effectual  relief,  the  case  generally  is  moot. 
This  case  asks  whether  an  award  of  nominal  damages  by
itself can redress a past injury.  We hold that it can. 

I 

According  to  the  complaint,  Chike  Uzuegbunam  is  an 
evangelical Christian who believes that an important part 
of  exercising  his  religion  includes  sharing  his  faith.    In 
2016,  Uzuegbunam  decided  to  share  his  faith  at  Georgia 
Gwinnett College, a public college where he was enrolled as
a student.  At an outdoor plaza on campus near the library