Clinical Associate Professor Clare Norins (center front) directs the First Amendment Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law. GFAF will recognize the clinic’s staff and students as Open Government Heroes at the 2026 Weltner Banquet on Oct. 28.
A citizen is blocked from viewing his city’s social media page. A local official sues a citizen for defamation for criticizing his job performance. A school board forbids parents from making unfavorable comments in a public meeting. A county sheriff attempts to prosecute a constituent for her political speech.
These are real examples of issues tackled by the UGA First Amendment Clinic. Since its establishment at the University of Georgia School of Law in 2019, the clinic has become essential to the fight for government transparency and free speech in Georgia.
“The UGA First Amendment Clinic came out of the gate as a credible, important place for people to go when their access to government had been denied and their First Amendment rights had been infringed upon,” said Richard T. Griffiths, president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. “The clinic is an extraordinary resource that does great work in the public interest.”
The foundation will pay tribute to that essential work at the upcoming 2026 Weltner Banquet, where the UGA First Amendment Clinic’s staff and students will be recognized as Open Government Heroes. In addition, longtime Atlanta Journal-Constitution legal affairs reporter Bill Rankin will receive the foundation’s Charles L. Weltner Freedom of Information Award at the banquet, happening 6:30-9 p.m., Oct. 28, at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta.
Directed by Clinical Associate Professor Clare Norins, the clinic is staffed by a legal fellow, a project attorney, an administrative support specialist, and up to 10 UGA law students per semester. The team’s results include:
- Achieving dismissal of a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) defamation case against neighborhood activists who spoke out against a local developer.
- Securing a court ruling that sets the standard for how local governments regulate speech on their social media accounts.
- Authoring amicus briefs supporting prevailing parties in seminal Georgia Supreme Court cases, among them ACLU v. Zeh (actual malice standard for public officials) and Camden County v. Sweatt (citizen right to petition).
- Protecting community members’ right to address a county school board free from viewpoint discrimination and obstructive procedures.
- Arguing for public access to court records and the right to record court proceedings.
- Successfully representing a journalist arrested while reporting.
In addition, the clinic conducts pre-publication review for journalists and media outlets and trains journalists on using open government laws, interacting with police, protecting their personal and digital safety, protecting sources, practicing their right to record, and avoiding defamation and copyright violations.
Norins and team often partner with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, other advocacy groups and private-practice First Amendment attorneys. Norins sits on the foundation’s board of directors. The clinic is primarily funded by The Stanton Foundation; a grant from The Legal Clinic Fund for Local News supports its work with journalists.
“The cases we win protect real people’s rights today. Just as important are the dozens of law students who learn firsthand in the clinic why access to government and freedom of expression are worth fighting for,” Norins said. “Our law students are the ones who’ll carry this work forward, into courtrooms, newsrooms, public forums, and government offices across the state for decades to come.”