Court Upholds Application of Noise Ordinance To Church

In Christian Methodist Episcopal Church v. Rizzo, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15246 (D SC, Feb. 18, 2010), a South Carolina federal district court rejected a church's free exercise challenge to the enforcement of a town's noise ordinance against it. Atlantic Beach, South Carolina police ticketed the CME Mission Church for broadcasting its religious services into the surrounding neighborhood by means of a loud speaker system, after complaints by surrounding businesses and residents. The court rejected CME's contention that it was exempt from the noise ordinance and found that police had not acted improperly in entering the church during a service to address the noise violations. CME failed to prove either intent to suppress religious practices or discriminatory enforcement.