Richmond General District Chief Judge Robert A. Pustilnik declared the city's noise ordinance unconstitutional Tuesday.
Pustilnik gave the city until Dec. 14 to appeal the decision to Richmond Circuit Court. If the city has not appealed by then, the judge said the charges against the four people charged under the ordinance would be dismissed.
The case stems from music played by a band during a party at a home in April.
The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance Feb. 22. During daytime hours, the ordinance prohibits sound such as a television or the playing of a musical instrument if it is “plainly audible” inside someone else’s home or at 50 feet away or farther.
The ordinance exempts sounds related to religious expression, such as sounds from religious services or events, including singing, bells and organs. Steven Benjamin, who is representing the four people charged, argued at a hearing last month that the exemption violates the First Amendment, and he said the law was unconstitutional because it was too broad.
"This statute advances religion over any other normal conduct," Pustilnik said in court Tuesday. He said the ordinance criminalizes noise emanating from almost any appliance and noted that a husband who turned on the television after getting into bed would violate the ordinance if his wife beside him could hear the television.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement