Deegan v. City of Ithaca

444 F.3d 135, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 8372, 2006 WL 880050
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedApril 6, 2006
DocketDocket No. 04-4708 CV
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 444 F.3d 135 (Deegan v. City of Ithaca) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deegan v. City of Ithaca, 444 F.3d 135, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 8372, 2006 WL 880050 (2d Cir. 2006).

Opinion

HALL, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant Kevin Deegan commenced this action, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 & 1988, seeking damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief against the City of Ithaca, New York, the City Attorney Marriette Geldenhuys, and the Chief of Police Richard Basile (collectively, “Defendants”). Deegan alleged that his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when he was prevented, under the purported authority of municipal noise ordinances, from preaching in Ithaca Commons. Following discovery, the District Court entertained cross motions for summary judgment and resolved the case on a record consisting of facts stipulated by the parties and the testimony of Deegan’s noise expert. The District Court granted Defendants’ motion and dismissed the complaint.

We find that the challenged noise ordinances, as interpreted, construed, and enforced by Defendants against Deegan cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. Therefore, we remand the case to the District Court with instructions to' enter judgment in favor of Deegan and award him appropriate relief.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Kevin Deegan, a resident of West Seneca, New York, believes that he has a duty as a Christian to preach, and he has carried out that tenet of his faith for more than twenty years by speaking in raised voice to passers-by in public areas such as parks, malls, streets and sidewalks. In Deegan’s view, that method of communication enables him to reach as many people as possible and stimulate dialogue about his religious beliefs. With that purpose, Deegan and three of his colleagues visited Ithaca Commons on October 9,1999.

Ithaca Commons is a two block, “T” shaped public pedestrian mall located in downtown Ithaca with walkways, benches, a playground, storefront businesses, restaurants, several pavilions, and a water fountain with nearby seating. In addition to attracting patrons to the many businesses located on the Commons, the area serves as a general gathering place and a popular “hang out” for students from nearby colleges. Musicians and other entertainers perform regularly in the Commons, which is also the site of numerous community events, such as the Downtown Ithaca Chili Cookoff and Winterfest, Ithaca Festival Craft Show, M & T Bank Summer Concert Series, and the Apple Harvest Festival, which draw thousands of visitors and feature exhibitions, concerts, poetry readings, and dance, among other things. It has also been a forum for demonstrations and protests highlighted by speeches, music performances, marches, and open discussion concerning a variety of issues [138]*138including nuclear weapons, environmental protection, animal rights, gay and lesbian rights, and campaign finance reform.

Shortly after Deegan and his colleagues positioned themselves in the middle of the “T” and began preaching, Deegan was approached by an Ithaca police officer who was responding to a noise complaint lodged by an employee of a nearby business; no one else complained about Deegan’s preaching. The officer did not interview the complainant or other witnesses; rather, upon hearing Deegan and his companions, the officer advised him that their speech violated the Ithaca noise ordinance because it could be heard from 25 feet away in the Ithaca Commons area and further advised him to keep the volume of his speech lower. When Deegan asked whether he could relocate to a street corner outside of the Commons, the officer informed him that the ordinance applies anywhere in the city. At Deegan’s request, the officer left to get a copy of the ordinance.

While the officer was away, Deegan heard a singing group 200 feet from his location and heard people talking who were more than 25 feet from him; they were left undisturbed and there is nothing in the record regarding complaints about other people. Although Deegan attempted to speak more softly, when the officer returned ten minutes after departing, he told Deegan that even the lower volume violated the ordinance. The officer provided Deegan with a copy of the Ithaca noise ordinance. After reviewing the statute, Deegan voiced disagreement that its provisions required him to speak so low as not to be heard 25 feet away, but the officer informed him that he had to keep his voice at that level or face arrest. The officer described Deegan as delivering his speech “persistently and continuously” and speaking at the “top of his lungs.” Deegan chose not to communicate his message by speaking in a volume that carried no more than 25 feet or by circulating brochures, and he did not seek a permit to use amplified sound. Concluding that he could not communicate effectively and also comply with the ordinance, Deegan left Ithaca on October 9, 1999, never to return to preach because his subsequent request for permission to speak in a voice that is audible at a distance of more than 25 feet was denied by Defendants.

Section 240-4 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code provides in relevant part:

§ 240-4. Unreasonable noise prohibited.
A. No person shall intentionally cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or recklessly create a risk thereof by making unreasonable noise or by causing unreasonable noise to be made.
B. For the purpose of implementing and enforcing the standard set forth in Subsection A of this section, “unreasonable noise” shall mean any sound created or caused to be created by any person which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of the public or which causes injury to animal life or damages to property or business. Factors to be considered in determining whether unreasonable noise exists in a given situation include but are not limited to any or all of the following:
(1) The intensity of the noise.
(2) Whether the nature of the noise is usual or unusual.
(3) Whether the origin of the noise is associated with nature or human-made activity.
(4) The intensity of the background noise, if any.
[139]*139(5) The proximity of the noise to sleeping facilities.
(6) The nature and the zoning district of the area within which the noise emanates and of the area within 500 feet of the source of the sound.
(7) The time of the day or night the noise occurs.
(8) The time duration of the noise.
(9) Whether the sound source is temporary.
(10) Whether the noise is continuous or impulsive.
(11) The volume of the noise.
(12) The existence of complaints concerning the noise from persons living or working in different places or premises who are affected by the noise.

Municipal Code of the City of Ithaca, New York § 240-M (the “Noise Ordinance”). Joint Stipulation ¶34. Ithaca Commons also has an ordinance regulating amplified sound, which provides in relevant part as follows:

§ 157-18. Amplified sound.

A. Except by special permit ...

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Deegan v. City of Ithaca
444 F.3d 135 (Second Circuit, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
444 F.3d 135, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 8372, 2006 WL 880050, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deegan-v-city-of-ithaca-ca2-2006.