Traveling evangelist preacher Rodney Keister lost his appeal in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, requiring him to obtain a Grounds Use Permit from the University to preach on campus. 

Around 4 p.m. on March 10, 2016, Keister walked onto The University of Alabama campus, adjacent to 6th Avenue, and began to preach with a loudspeaker while displaying a banner and distributing religious literature. 

The University asked Keister to move to a different location. He complied, and after being asked to leave the campus by the University at the second location, Keister left, and sued the University. Keister lost his case but appealed the decision. 

In her opinion, Judge Robin Rosenbaum of the 11th Circuit noted the importance of the sidewalk in American culture, citing cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead’s claim that “any town that doesn’t have sidewalks doesn’t love its children” and Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends.”

“The significance of sidewalks was not lost on traveling evangelical preacher Plaintiff-Appellant Rodney Keister, either,” Rosenbaum. “This case stems from Keister’s efforts to use a sidewalk at Defendant-Appellee University of Alabama to spread the good word.” 

Rosenbaum affirmed the judgment of the District Court first made on Jan. 23, 2018, that the sidewalk located on the University’s campus is a limited public forum, making the Grounds Use Permit enforced by the University applicable in this case. 

The University updated its free speech and protest policy in January 2020, including “reasonable time, date and manner restrictions that are viewpoint neutral” and requiring that the gathering does not disrupt normal University activities. 

“Whether or not I agree with the time, place and manner restrictions that UA has in place is one thing, because they’re pretty strict,” said Dianne Bragg, a UA associate professor who teaches mass communication law. “They have been very viewpoint neutral. They have not tried to suppress one type of speech over another.” 

A copy of the updated Grounds Use Policy was provided to The Crimson White by the University’s Division of Strategic Communications, maintaining that “all use of University space subject to registration under this Section is further governed by the General Terms and Conditions for Use of University Space.”

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