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City Barred From Enforcing Noise Ordinance In Consent Decree

By Howard M. Friedman

A consent judgment (full text) has been entered by a New York federal district court enjoining the city of Ithaca from enforcing a provision in its municipal ordinances that bans noise which can be heard more than 25 feet away. DeFerio v. City of Ithaca, (ND NY, 2/12/2009) was a lawsuit brought by a Christian evangelist who had been prevented by police from preaching in the Ithaca Commons. The consent order bans enforcement of the limitation against anyone engaged in unamplified speech in a public place. It also orders the police to train its officers in proper enforcement of the ban, and awards attorney's fees and nominal damages. Alliance Defense fund issued a release announcing the consent judgment. An article yesterday in WorldNet Daily has more background on the case. (See prior related posting.)

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 14, 2009 (boomark / email).