Opinion ID: 1233761
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Relevant Level of Scrutiny

Text: We must next consider whether the restriction placed on that nonpublic forum, preventing the protestors from standing on it, is reasonable and not an effort to block expression merely because the government disagrees with the view of the speaker. Kokinda, 497 U.S. at 730, 110 S.Ct. 3115. [C]onsideration of a forum's special attributes is relevant to the constitutionality of a regulation since the significance of the governmental interest must be assessed in light of the characteristic nature and function of the particular forum involved. Id. at 732, 110 S.Ct. 3115 (alteration in original) (quoting Heffron v. Int'l Soc. for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., 452 U.S. 640, 650-51, 101 S.Ct. 2559, 69 L.Ed.2d 298 (1981)). In this case, the ramp is the size required for a handicapped accessible ramp and is designed for people to enter and exit the Planned Parenthood Facility. The record shows that if a person were to stand on the ramp it would no longer have the required handicapped clearance and the presence of a static body would block access to one of the two required handrails. It is also relevant that because the ramp parallels the sidewalk, a protestor can walk next to someone entering the building and continue talking to that person. In light of the availability of a protestor's access to the desired audience, it is certainly not unreasonable to preclude the protestor from standing on the ramp itself, thereby blocking the handicapped accessibility of the structure. This case therefore differs from our prior McTernan decision, which held that the reasonableness of prohibiting a protestor from walking in an alley adjacent to the Facility while allowing persons associated with the Facility to walk in the alley was a jury question. McTernan, 564 F.3d at 656. Not only was the alley in that case a traditional public forum, but questions remained as to whether the restrictions imposed were necessary for the safety of those in the alley, which depended on the traffic level and protestor activity, among other factors. Id. No such questions are present in this case, where the forum is non public, and the restrictions are the reasonable and necessary response to ADA regulations. See 28 C.F.R. Part 36, App. A §§ 3.5, 4.1.3(9). The District Court did not hold merely that Plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits; it held instead that they had no chance of success on the merits. We see no reason to disturb those conclusions. Although that holding is dispositive on the appeal of the order denying the preliminary injunction, we turn to the remaining factors relevant to the preliminary injunction as they may also have an impact on our review of the dismissal order.