Athens-Clarke County’s noise ordinance is anything but constitutional, according to two University students.

William Hoffman and Robert Manlove, along with the Law Office of Charles A. Jones Jr., challenged the ordinance Thursday by filing a constitutional lawsuit against the government.

Although the students have not been cited for violating the ordinance, they said they want to fight for the free speech of students who have been cited.

“We believe the ordinance violates the students’ rights under the free speech provision in the state’s constitution, which is broader than the U.S. Constitution,” Jones said. “Because the ordinance is so broad and indiscriminate, you can impose the same law in the Woodlands or downtown as you do in a residential subdivision or sheep meadow. That’s just not appropriate.”

Under the policy of “compliance through deterrence,” ACC police officers do not issue warnings for noise violations. The Municipal Court judge sets the fine at $144 for the first offense and doubles it for each subsequent offense.

Under the noise ordinance, sound cannot be heard from 100 feet away after 11 p.m. on weekdays and after midnight on weekends. At all other times, a ticket is issued if sound is heard from 300 feet away.

At apartment complexes and duplexes, there is a five-foot restriction on sound. This covers a sweeping range of sound that may be consistent with the normal activities of those areas, Jones said.

The lawsuit is being filed as an overbreadth challenge, by which any citizen can question the constitutionality of the law.

“I became personally interested when a friend of mine received a citation at the Farmer’s Exchange apartments,” Jones said.

Hoffman and Manlove were referred to Jones after he spoke with several students about the idea.

“Evidence in this case will show that an ACC commissioner ‘dissuaded’ some fraternity students from moving into his neighborhood by threatening to call the police on them, literally, ‘every time a peep is heard,’” Jones said. “That’s not within the bounds of decency … and this ordinance seems to allow that.”

Several University students – Ashley Sanders, Michael Reed Carson, Charles Douglas Bodine and Jimmy Wearn – were cited last semester.

“I was having a party at my house when I got a citation,” Wearn said, a sophomore from Lilburn.

Hoffman and Manlove presented the complaint at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, and the Superior Court has 30 days to respond. In a 60-day period of “discovery,” both sides ask questions and are required to answer under oath. A Superior Court judge then will rule on the constitutionality of the law. The case is sent on automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court.

“I am confident we will win the case,” Jones said. “I’m considering asking the judge to place a temporary hold on the ordinance … because the constitutionality of the law is so important.”