On The Front Lines
Victory: Rutherford Institute Successfully Defends Christian Street Preacher Against Williamsburg Noise Ordinance Charges
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have successfully defended a Christian street preacher who was charged with violating Williamsburg’s noise ordinance for preaching with a small amplifier on a public street. Don Karns contacted The Rutherford Institute after he was cited on July 15, 2011, for violating Williamsburg’s noise ordinance. Insisting that “religious activities or expressions” are exempt from the noise-regulating provision which Karns was charged with violating, Institute attorneys asked the General District Court for the City of Williamsburg/James City County to dismiss the charges. In dismissing the charge against Karns, the court agreed that the First Amendment protects public speech of the kind that Karns was making.
“This is a victory for the First Amendment,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “I commend Don Karns and those like him who are willing to face down all opposition in speaking their minds.”
On July 15, 2011, Don Karns of Hampton, Va., was preaching the gospel on Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, Va., using a small amplifier to make himself heard above the public street noise. Police approached Karns and told him that amplification was illegal, and cited him for violating the city’s noise ordinance. Karns’ amplifier was confiscated, and he was issued a summons to appear at General District Court for the City of Williamsburg/James City County on August 22.
In coming to Karns’ defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys argued that Williamsburg’s noise ordinance, as applied, violated Karns’ rights to free speech and free exercise. Institute attorneys also pointed out that the same noise ordinance used to charge Karns includes an exemption for “religious activities or expressions,” which clearly applies to Karns’ speech. Affiliate attorney Robert Luther III with the Knicely & Associates law firm in Williamsburg, Va., assisted The Rutherford Institute in its defense of Don Karns.
In recent months, Institute attorneys have come to the defense of several street preachers charged with violating noise ordinances. Most notably, in Marcavage v. City of Winchester, Institute attorneys filed a free speech lawsuit on behalf of a group of street preachers who were prevented from using a microphone to speak about their religious beliefs at a community street festival. In filing suit in Federal District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Rutherford Institute attorneys asked the court to strike down the City’s ordinance as a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Institute attorneys also pointed out that the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a Virginia Beach noise ordinance in 2009 that was similar to the Winchester law in Tanner v. City of Virginia Beach.
