Legal Definitions - nontraditional public forum

A nontraditional public forum is essentially another term for a designated public forum. It refers to a place that is not historically or traditionally open for public assembly and free speech, but which the government has intentionally opened up for such purposes.

Unlike a traditional public forum (like a public park or street corner), which has always been available for public expression, a nontraditional public forum becomes a place for speech only because the government has chosen to designate it as such. This designation can be for a limited time, for specific topics, or for particular groups. Once designated, the government's ability to restrict speech in these forums is significantly limited, similar to traditional public forums, requiring content-based restrictions to meet a very high legal standard (strict scrutiny). However, the government can generally close or "undesignate" these forums, returning them to their non-public forum status, as long as it does so in a content-neutral way.

• Example 1: Public University Student Union Bulletin Board

  Imagine a state university's student union building, which is primarily for student services, dining, and recreation. The university decides to dedicate a specific bulletin board in a high-traffic hallway for student organizations to post flyers about their meetings, events, and causes. While the entire student union is not a traditional public forum, by specifically designating this bulletin board for student speech, the university has created a nontraditional public forum. The university cannot then selectively remove flyers based on their viewpoint (e.g., only allowing flyers for certain political groups while banning others), as long as they meet reasonable, content-neutral posting guidelines.

• Example 2: Municipal Auditorium for Community Debates

  A city owns a large municipal auditorium, typically used for concerts, plays, and official city events. The city council decides to make the auditorium available for rent by community groups to host public debates on local political issues during specific evenings. By opening up this space for public discourse on political topics, the city has created a nontraditional public forum. If a group wants to rent the space for a debate on a controversial zoning proposal, the city cannot deny them access simply because it disagrees with the group's viewpoint or the topic of the debate, assuming the group meets all other rental criteria.

• Example 3: Designated Protest Zone at a State Capitol

  A state capitol building has extensive grounds, but to manage security and traffic, the state designates a specific grassy area on the capitol lawn as the only place where public demonstrations and rallies are permitted. While the entire capitol grounds are not automatically open for unrestricted speech, by setting aside this particular area for expressive activities, the state has created a nontraditional public forum. Individuals or groups wishing to protest or hold a rally must use this designated zone, and the state cannot then prohibit a protest within that zone based on the message being conveyed, provided the protest adheres to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.