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Turn Up The Tunes? Supreme Court Strikes Down Radio Rules
December 14, 2012
Motorists are free to blast Justin Timberlake — or any other music they choose — as loud as they wish, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court unanimously struck down a state law barring drivers from blaring their radios at a volume that was “plainly audible” to someone 25 feet away. Three of the seven justices — Chief Justice Ricky Polston and Justices Charles Canady and Peggy Quince — didn’t fully support the reasoning behind the decision, but didn’t write opinions saying where they differed.
The ruling upholds the opinion of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, though the Supreme Court said the law was not unconstitutionally vague, one of the reasons the DCA gave for striking down the law. Instead, the high court said the law infringed on the freedom of expression.
Writing for the majority, Justice Jorge Labarga highlighted a part of the law that exempts commercial and political messages from the ban, saying that amounted to a restriction on certain kinds of speech, a violation of the First Amendment.
Labarga’s ruling was skeptical of the state’s argument that the ban was justified because it makes traffic safer — but said that didn’t matter.
“The State simply argues that noncommercial vehicles are more dangerous to the public because they are ubiquitous,” he wrote. “This argument, however, fails to explain how a commercial or political vehicle amplifying commercial or political messages audible a mile away is less dangerous or more tolerable than a noncommercial vehicle amplifying a religious message audible just over twenty-five feet away from the vehicle.”
The case was brought by Richard Catalano, a lawyer who got a $73 ticket for listening to Justin Timberlake on his way to work one morning in 2007. Catalano said he was surprised by the fine and decided to fight the law’s constitutionality in court. Alexander Schermerhorn also challenged the law.
Justices also rejected an argument from the state that it could chop off the exemption for business and political speech, though that portion of the ruling could also signal a way to work around the shortcoming.
“Severing the provision from the statute would expand the statute’s reach beyond what the Legislature contemplated,” Labarga wrote. “Accordingly, in striving to show great deference to the Legislature, this Court will not legislate and sever provisions that would effectively expand the scope of the statute’s intended breadth.”
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Pam Bondi said her office was reviewing the decision.
By Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Comments
13 Responses to “Turn Up The Tunes? Supreme Court Strikes Down Radio Rules”
Let’s play “ABBA” at 10,000 decibels.
the reason it was shot down was due to the way the law was written. the law separated commercial and political reasons from it. if they have a better reasoningg for the law like the ones provided in these comments, i believe the law would stick.
I live about 120 YARDS from the road in a new brick home.
I should not be awakened in the might by some idiot’s music or loud exhaust as they are going by.
Perhaps the judges(?) don’t mind that but I certainly do.
In any event, the 25 foot car noise law may have been struck down, but there is still a regular disturbing the peace law in place. USE IT!
I enjoy the sound of uncapped exhaust hedders on a well tuned motor, but I cannot abide with that BOOM BOOM BOOM.
If those flowers of intellegence wish to encapsulate themselves, in an enviroment, saturated with high decible levels of low frequency racket, then let them have at it.
Oh, come on folks, Timberlake isn’t THAT bad
David for Dolly Parton
Oh yeah since you have to pay for their hearing diability.
My portable boat air horn blasting at their ears should not be a problem?
Also nice to have a stoggie with a cherry red fire for placement on their back seat when they leave it blasting in the tomb thumb parking lot.
Now that makes me feel good.
I have two complaints with this ruling. 1. Safety hazard! If you can be heard loud and clear at 25 feet, you most likely can not hear the sirens of police and ambulance. Don’t we have enough accidents around here already? 2. Drivers vibrating my house with their base at 11:30 pm when most of the neighborhood is asleep! We do have school and work the next morning. I don’t have to have my music loud enough for all the world to hear inorder to enjoy my music. If you do, you have probably distroyed your eardrums from all the loud music you have been listening too.
They can play what they like as long as I don’t have to hear it or listen to it. That’s a violation of my civil rights that allow me to live in a society free of tyranny! It’s tyranny if you can’t get away from it and they don’t have the common courtesy to keep it at a volume that we can tolerate. No common sense in the interpretation of the law these days…..
If only 4 justices were in favor that’s not unanimous.
It does show that they have never had to suffer through a red light with some of the crap that is being played today.
The judges got it wrong. If I have to sit at a light, obeying traffic laws and someone is blasting obscenity laced “music” at a volume that I can’t avoid, and I can’t get away from it without committing a traffic offense, then that is assault.
And “The Rap” goes on……..just sayin
The Florida Supreme Court sure has made their stupidity LOUD AND CLEAR.
Justin Timberlake? Egad! I’d be too embarrassed to fight that ticket…