Boise Noise Code Ran Afoul of Constitution in Sierra Club Suit

A federal judge said a Boise, Idaho, noise ordinance wasn’t content-neutral because it exempted certain properties and groups, backing up an order that allowed the Sierra Club to march with megaphones at a protest.

Judge David C. Nye had temporarily enjoined Boise from enforcing its noise ordinance against the Sierra Club, saying ordinance’s exemptions presumably violated the First Amendment, according to his order. Nye said the law’s exemptions for outdoor municipal, school, religious, or publicly owned property or facilities amounted to a “speaker-based restriction” that “reflects a content preference.”

“In other words, if the city was really interested in ...