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Opening Arguments

Shhhhhh!

A rock band called Awaken the Dead makes so much noise the neighbors complain? What a shock:

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - Members of a rock band are keeping up a fight to practice at their home despite a central Indiana city's 24-hour-a-day noise ordinance.

Awaken the Dead band members became entangled in the issue after being ticketed by police about 1 p.m. Feb. 18 following a complaint about the volume of their music from a neighbor who was trying to sleep after working a midnight shift.

Kokomo city attorney Lawrence McCormack said Wednesday that ticket would be waived, but that didn't satisfy bass player Justin Clark, the Kokomo Tribune reported .

Much is being made of the noise ordinance's 24-hour coverage and the fact that most such ordinances are applied only during late-night and early-morning sleeping hours. But another problem with the ordinance is its lack of an objective standards. To be in violation, noise must be "plainly audible," and it's up to the cops to make a judgment call on that. Pretty typical, though. Fort Wayne's ordinance forbids "any loud, raucous, improper, unreasonable, offensive or unusual noise, disorder or tumult, which disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others within the city, or to permit such noise, disorder or tumult to be made in or about his/her house or premises, and the same is hereby declared to be a public nuisance."

Ours doesn't really get into times, either. So be quiet out there all the time, OK?

Comments

gadfly
Fri, 03/30/2012 - 2:42pm

"But Awaken’s members want to practice. And Clark said the band has now received permission from every neighbor “within earshot” of the band’s preferred practice space to hold rehearsals."

The band should indeed be "greatful" that the immediate neighbors included a bunch of Deadheads. But the question unanswered is: What happened to the guy who works third shift?


littlejohn
Mon, 04/02/2012 - 1:57pm

Hate to pick unnecessary nits, but it "greatful" a deliberate pun that flew over my head, or just a typo? And yes, I liked the Grateful Dead.

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