Opinion ID: 155604
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Designated Public Forum

Text: A designated public forum is property the government has opened for expressive activity, treating the property as if it were a traditional public forum. A designated public forum may be created for a “limited purpose” for use “by certain speakers, or for the discussion of certain subjects.” Perry Educ. Ass’n, 460 U.S. at 45-46 & n.7 (citations omitted); see also Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 802. For example, “[u]niversity facilities opened for meetings of registered student organizations qualify as a designated public forum.” Church on the Rock v. City of Albuquerque, 84 F.3d 1273, 1278 (10th Cir.) (citing Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 267-68 (1981)), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 360 (1996). Unlike a traditional public forum, the government “is not required to indefinitely retain the open character” of a designated public forum. Perry Educ. Ass’n, 460 U.S. at 46. However, as long as the property is designated as a public forum, the government is “bound by the same standards as apply in a traditional public forum.” Id. Thus, content-based regulations must be narrowly drawn to -15- effectuate a compelling state interest and reasonable time, place, and manner regulations are permissible. Id. Sometimes included within this category of designated public forum is property referred to as a “limited public forum.” In Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (1981), for example, the Supreme Court held that a state university had created a “limited public forum,” id. at 272, by making its facilities generally available for the activities of registered student groups, and applied the strict scrutiny test to the university’s decision to exclude a religious student group from using its facilities, id. at 269-70. Thus, in Widmar, the term “limited public forum” was used specifically to denote a particular sub-category of the designated public forum--a designated public forum for a limited purpose for use by certain speakers, i.e., registered student groups. In more recent cases, however, the Court has used the term “limited public forum” to describe a type of nonpublic forum and has applied a reasonableness standard under which the state may restrict speech “so long as the distinctions drawn are reasonable in light of the purpose served by the forum and are viewpoint neutral.” 12 Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 806. For example, in Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of the Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819 (1995), the Court, as in Widmar, held a state university had created a “limited public forum,” id. at 829, 12 See part B2, infra. -16- by allowing a wide spectrum of registered student groups access to a student activities fund. In contrast to Widmar, however, the Court applied a reasonableness test to the university’s decision to exclude a Christian student news publication from receiving money from the fund. Id. at 829-30. Similarly, in Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free Sch. Dist., 508 U.S. 384 (1993), the Court accepted the lower courts’ holding that the school district had created a “limited public forum,” id. at 390, by allowing various private organizations access to school property, and went on to apply a reasonableness standard to the school district’s exclusion of a church from showing a film on school property, id. at 393-94. Our review of the record and briefs persuades us that Summum does not use “limited public forum” to mean property which falls within the category of a designated public forum. In determining whether the government has created a designated public forum, courts must examine several factors, including (1) the purpose of the forum; (2) the extent of use of the forum; and (3) the government’s intent in creating a designated public forum. See generally 1 R ODNEY A. S MOLLA , S MOLLA AND N IMMER ON F REEDOM OF S PEECH § 8:10-8:14 (3d ed. 1996). 13 Nowhere in the amended complaint does Summum allege facts 13 The purpose element requires “consideration of a forum’s special attributes [which] is relevant to the constitutionality of a regulation since the (continued...) -17- pertaining to the purpose or any special attributes of the courthouse lawn which make it compatible with extensive expressive activity; the extent to which the County uses the courthouse lawn as a place for expressive activity; or the County’s intent to open up the courthouse lawn to expressive activity by the general public, certain speakers, or certain topics. Indeed, as Summum points out, the only facts it alleges to support its assertions that the County’s actions have established a public forum are that the Ten Commandments monolith has stood on the courthouse lawn on property 13 (...continued) significance of the governmental interest must be assessed in light of the characteristic nature and function of the particular forum involved.” Heffron v. International Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., 452 U.S. 640, 650-51 (1981). The extent-of-use requirement is not satisfied merely when some speakers are allowed access to government property. See United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720, 730 (1990) (plurality opinion); Perry Educ. Ass’n, 460 U.S. at 47; Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. 828, 836 (1976); Brown v. Palmer, 944 F.2d 732, 734 (10th Cir. 1991) (en banc). Something more than “selective access” or “limited discourse” is required. Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 802, 805. The government must allow “general access” to, id. at 803, or “indiscriminate use” of, Perry Educ. Ass’n, 460 U.S. at 47, the forum in question whether by the general public, certain speakers, or for certain subjects. Finally, the government intent element is satisfied only when the government “intentionally open[s] a nontraditional forum for public discourse.” Cornelius, 460 U.S. at 802. The Court identified two factors to help it discern intent: (1) the policy and practice of the government; and (2) the nature of the property and its compatibility with expressive activity. Id. Thus, the Court expressed its reluctance to find a designated public forum where “the principal function of the property would be disrupted by expressive activity” or where government policy or practice reveals criteria to selectively limit access. Id. at 803-05. -18- owned by the County since 1971. Aplt. Reply Br. at 10-11 & n. 1. Summum contends the placement of this monolith on government property is enough to create a limited public forum. Id. at 10. As the district court correctly observed, a designated public forum (even the limited purpose variety) cannot be created simply by allowing one private organization access to the forum. See Brown v. Palmer, 944 F.2d 732, 734 (10th Cir. 1991) (en banc); see also supra note 12. Clearly Summum cannot be arguing that the courthouse lawn is a designated public forum. The district court’s conclusion that a designated public forum has not been created, however, fails to address the more pertinent question whether a “limited public forum”--in the sense that Summum and the Court in Rosenberger and Lamb’s Chapel define that term under the category of a nonpublic forum--has been created. It is to this third category that we now turn. 14