The University of North Dakota may have violated the free-speech rights of activists who were circulating an initiative petition to change North Dakota's child custody laws, a state appeals court ruled.

The North Dakota Court of Appeals order Wednesday directs Northeast Central District Judge Debbie Kleven to consider a sworn statement by Roland Riemers, of Emerado, in the context of a UND motion for a summary judgment in its favor.

Riemers' affidavit says he and other petition circulators were attempting to gather signatures on the UND campus last August for a ballot measure that sought to radically revamp North Dakota's laws on child custody and support.

Riemers said circulators were barred from approaching people inside UND's student union to ask if they wished to sign. Instead, they could only display a sign and hope people came to them, Riemers' affidavit said.

"We have found, though, that just (sitting) quietly at a table without speaking up is mostly useless for petition gathering," Riemers' statement said.

Riemers' lawsuit seeks an injunction against UND to prevent the school from limiting speech on campus, and requiring the university to allow people to sit in on law school classes if they wish without paying tuition.

The appeals court's ruling on Wednesday rejected Riemers' argument that he and others were entitled to observe law school classes.

But the decision revived Riemers' free-speech claim and ordered Kleven to consider Riemers' affidavit, should UND seek a summary judgment in its favor. The three judges also said Riemers did not have to pay UND's attorneys' fees.

"We conclude the district court erred in dismissing Riemers' free-speech claim … after Riemers had submitted an affidavit which was not expressly excluded by the court," the ruling says.

Riemers is a frequent litigant in North Dakota's court system, and mostly acts as his own attorney. The Supreme Court has heard a number of appeals involving Riemers, many of which came from disputes arising from two divorces.

The North Dakota Court of Appeals hears cases occasionally at the direction of the Supreme Court. Its members are typically retired state district judges. Former district Judges Benny Graff, William Hodny and Ronald Goodman heard Riemers' appeal.