## Facts

- Justice For All (JFA), a University of Texas at Austin student anti-abortion organization, engaged in campus expressive activities, including literature distribution.
- The University enforced a “Literature Policy” requiring all printed materials distributed on campus to bear the name of a university-affiliated person or organization responsible for distribution.
- During a campus exhibit, JFA members distributed leaflets stating “Life is Beautiful — Choose Life” without identifying JFA or any sponsor.
- University officials stopped the distribution solely because the leaflets lacked the identifying information required by the Literature Policy.
- JFA sued university officials in federal court, alleging First Amendment violations; other policy challenges were eliminated, leaving the Literature Policy challenge for decision.
- The district court held the Literature Policy unconstitutional as a restriction on anonymous speech and permanently enjoined its enforcement against JFA’s anonymous leafleting.
- University officials appealed, disputing the forum classification, the First Amendment ruling, and the breadth of the injunction.

## Issues

1. Whether a public university policy requiring all distributed printed materials to identify a university-affiliated sponsor unconstitutionally restricts students’ First Amendment right to anonymous speech.
2. Whether the campus areas opened for student expressive activity are a designated public forum or a limited public forum for purposes of reviewing speech restrictions.
3. Whether the district court’s permanent injunction was properly tailored to the constitutional violation.

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit affirmed that the Literature Policy violated the First Amendment by broadly barring anonymous leafleting in the relevant student speech forum.
- The court agreed the University had created a designated public forum for student expression in the relevant campus areas, triggering heightened scrutiny.
- The court held the University’s asserted interests (order, litter prevention, and accountability) did not justify the blanket printed-identification requirement because it was not narrowly tailored and less restrictive options were available.
- The court remanded for reconsideration of the specific injunctive remedy, emphasizing that injunctive relief must be tailored to the violation.

## Legal Principles

- Anonymous advocacy and leafleting are protected by the First Amendment, and a public university may not condition access to an established student speech forum on surrendering anonymity absent adequate justification.
- When a university intentionally opens property for student expressive activity as a designated public forum, restrictions on speech must satisfy heightened review; even content-neutral regulations must be narrowly tailored to significant interests and leave open alternative channels.
- A blanket requirement that all leaflets identify a responsible person or organization is unconstitutional where it burdens more anonymity than necessary and selectively targets leafleting while leaving other anonymous expression largely untouched.
- Courts must tailor injunctive relief to the constitutional violation and avoid unnecessarily restricting a university’s ability to adopt lawful time, place, and manner rules.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit held that UT Austin’s Literature Policy impermissibly restricted protected anonymous leafleting in a designated public forum, affirmed the finding of a First Amendment violation, and remanded for the district court to reconsider and tailor the injunction to the violation.


Justice for All v. Faulkner, 410 F.3d 760 (5th Cir. 2005)