Street Preacher's Lawsuit Challenges DeWitt, NY Noise Ordinance

Yesterday's Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard reports that a lawsuit has been filed in a New York federal district by a Christian preacher seeking to have the DeWitt, New York noise ordinance declared unconstitutional.  Traveling Catholic Christian evangelist Nicholas Auricchio was taken to a police station and cited last year for preaching in a loud voice on a public sidewalk. The charges were dropped within a month. The lawsuit claims that the ordinance's ban on any annoying sound that causes "public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or disturbs the public’s peace, comfort or tranquility" violates Auricchio's free speech and free exercise rights.