U.S. Supreme Court rejects Christian preacher's challenge to university

By John Kruzel

WASHINGTON, March 20 - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a traveling Christian evangelist's free-speech challenge to a University of Alabama requirement that he obtain a permit before handing out religious pamphlets and preaching from a sidewalk adjacent to its campus.

The justices turned away an appeal by preacher Rodney Keister of a lower court's ruling rejecting his claim that the university's permit requirement violated free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.