The World Wide Street Preachers Fellowship quickly appealed a federal judge's decision Thursday upholding Salt Lake City's buffer zone plan for this weekend's LDS general conference.

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled that Salt Lake City's plans to put street preachers in protest zones during the LDS Church's general conference is constitutional.

And while Campbell's ruling gave the city an early victory in the legal battle, there was little time to celebrate as the street preachers appealed to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver Thursday afternoon.

"We just got served with the appellants' motion for emergency relief in the 10th Circuit, so I'm obviously focusing 100 percent on that," said City Attorney Ed Rutan.

Campbell determined that only the street preachers' free-speech rights were being affected and that the city's plan did not affect the preachers' rights to practice religion and to freely assemble.

Since only one right was affected, Campbell said she wouldn't give the city's plan "strict scrutiny."

"Even if strict scrutiny did apply, the court concludes that the city regulations are constitutional," the decision states.

Street preacher attorney Geoffrey Dobbin said the group expected a decision on its emergency appeal by today.

The street preachers had filed a request for a temporary restraining order after Salt Lake City released details of its plan to create free-speech zones across the street from the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Conference Center.

Those zones are areas where preachers must stand when holding signs. When mobile, the preachers would be allowed to cross the street and mingle with conferencegoers, but those preachers would have to stay moving so as not to block pedestrian traffic. Also, on the Conference Center side of North Temple there is a small zone where preachers can stand while holding signs.

The city adopted the zone plan after the LDS Church's conference last October, when two street preachers were assaulted by conference attendees. The two attackers became enraged when the preachers wore around their necks clothing sacred to the LDS faithful. Many, including a group of evangelical Christians called Standing Together Ministries, have since criticized the preachers for using what they consider mean-spirited tactics when preaching.

A temporary restraining order would have blocked the city from enforcing the zones.

Campbell found the zones were "content-neutral" and noted everyone, regardless of their message, could use the zones. She also ruled the zones were "narrowly tailored" in that while they served the city's interest of keeping the peace and maintaining pedestrian traffic flow, they also allowed speakers to reach their audience.