You may be found guilty of disorderly conduct in violation of R.C. 2917.11(A)(2) if you are "making unreasonable noise." A Wayne County resident was making "unreasonable noise" during a Halloween party he hosted in 2009. He appealed to the Ninth District Court of Appeals and lost his argument that the disorderly conduct statute is "unconstitutionally vague." Jason Carrick argued that he did not know what it meant to make "unreasonable noise." So he repeatedly cranked his music up to the point it bothered very distant neighbors. The case made it all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court who today said that "A person of ordinary intelligence would understand that R.C. 2917.11(A)(2) proscribes playing music at a late hour at such a volume that it keeps the neighbors from sleeping, causes windows to vibrate on a house a quarter mile away, and prompts numerous calls of complaints to authorities." Read the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in State v. Carrick, 2012-Ohio-608 here.
If you are accused of a crime or have been convicted already, contact me if you can afford to hire a private criminal defense lawyer. Otherwise, contact your county or state public defender to see if they can help.
Contact me 24/7 by sending an email to ohiocriminalappealslawyer@gmail.com
