City of Beaufort v. Baker

Chandler, Justice:

On appeal is an Order of the Circuit Court affirming Appellants’ convictions in the Municipal Court for violations of a local noise ordinance. We affirm.

FACTS

Appellants are street preachers who, for a number of years, have preached on Saturdays in downtown Beaufort. In so doing, they loudly preach directly in front of business establishments by either standing on the sidewalk or in the bed of a pickup truck.

In October of 1991, Beaufort City Council amended local ordinance § 9-1008 (Ordinance) to read as follows:

Section 9-1008 LOUD AND UNSEEMLY NOISE (a) It shall be unlawful…