When the D.C. City Council passed the now infamous amendments to the District’s disorderly conduct law, the changes were meant to clarify what one subcommittee had called a “vague and ambiguous” statute. But the new measure only creates more confusion and questions by greatly increasing penalties and police discretion in noise violations. College students can be especially vulnerable to the vagaries of law enforcement, and it is essential that student leaders and University officials press the D.C. Council to revise the amendment.
The wording of the new statute, which says that it is illegal for a person to make noise “likely to annoy or disturb one or more other persons in their residences” between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., is incredibly vague and subjective. Lt. John Hedgecock of the Metropolitan Police Department has said that his officers will be allowed to determine what constitutes excessive noise and have the power to make arrests even when no complaint has been made. Worryingly, he also said that officers would be particularly alert around N, O, and Prospect Streets. With penalties that include imprisonment for up to 90 days and fines ranging up to $500, it is unscrupulous and unfair to define an offense so ambiguously.
So far, student leaders have taken many of the right steps to oppose this statute. D.C. Students Speak, a D.C.-wide student advocacy group, is testifying against the amendments before the D.C. Council later this week during one of the Council’s monthly youth meetings. The Georgetown University Student Association will hold a student town hall on Thursday to discuss the measure and is contacting other student governments in D.C. to coordinate a response.
But moving forward, student leaders and the University will have to act more deliberately if they want to reform the law. Students should emphasize that the current amendments are not only unfair, but potentially unclear enough to be unconstitutional. The noise violation amendment’s potential for arbitrary enforcement means it is unlikely to survive a court challenge.
Ideally, a coalition of student organizations and universities will work together to draw up a revision to the current amendment—one that clears up the ambiguity of the old law while leaving no room for unfair prosecution of students. It is important that advocates bring their proposal for reform to the D.C. Council. The approval of the noise law was unanimous, but council members should be given a chance to revisit the issue, considering the serious drawbacks to these amendments.
Convincing the D.C. Council to write student-friendly legislation will be no easy task, but if students want to defend their rights, and prevent being unfairly targeted and punished, they need to make some noise in opposition to these unjust amendments.
