en without the 30-foot rule."
gainst the town's 30-foot rule will
likely take several months, although
she expects the issue to be resolv-
ed before next summer.
on a schedule going forward that
allows for about six months of dis-
covery and motions in the hopes of
having a final resolution by next
season."
essentially said she understood the
intent of the town of Ocean City's
noise ordinance on the Boardwalk,
but the ordinance did not hold up to
First Amendment scrutiny.
stricting excessive noise on the
Boardwalk," the opinion reads. "But
the means employed by Ocean City
to achieve its goals reach far broad-
er than necessary. The 30-foot audi-
bility restriction, which categorically
prohibits music played at the level of
most human activity, is not narrowly
tailored to prevent excessive noise.
Therefore, the 30-foot audibility re-
striction fails to satisfy the second
prong of intermediate scrutiny."
say was threatened by Ocean City
lations of the noise ordinance while
playing his violin music on the
Boardwalk. As a result of the alleg-
ed coercion, Hassay stopped play-
ing for the remainder of the season,
causing great financial loss and per-
haps more importantly, a violation of
his basic First Amendment rights to
freedom of expression in a public
forum.
the suit, asserting Hassay was
merely approached by an OCPD
officer after complaints from retail-
ers in the area where he was per-
forming and asked to turn down the
volume of his music to conform to
the 30-foot rule.
tion or threatened Hassay with ar-
rest, but rather intended to educate
the Boardwalk performer on the re-
cent changes in the town's ordi-
nance.
ordinance, he had a conversation
with several Ocean City Police offi-
cers which resulted in his feeling
that he was deterred, or `chilled,'
from exercising his First Amend-
ment rights," the town's answer
reads. "However, the record before
the court in the matter is clear that,
as it relates to Hassay, no enforce-
ment of the noise ordinance ever
occurred."
Showell, MD 21862
443-727-9042