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(Reuters) - Motorist Richard Catalano's five-year quest to crank up Justin Timberlake tunes on his way to work won the blessing of the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday.

In a unanimous ruling, the state's highest court affirmed a pair of lower-court opinions that a 2007 state law prohibiting loud music while driving violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of expression.

Catalano received a $73 ticket in 2007 for violating the newly enacted law that prohibited motorists from playing music that is "plainly audible" 25 feet away. Motorists traveling by hospitals, schools and churches were subjected to even stricter standards.

Catalano, a Clearwater lawyer, challenged the law as subjective, arguing that determining whether music was too loud was in the ears of the beholder.

Further, the law provides listeners with fewer protections than drivers of vehicles emitting political or commercial speech, who have more explicit protections under the U.S. Constitution.

Calling the law overly broad, Justice Jorge Labarga wrote that noncommercial speech was also protected. Though rejecting the notion that the law was too vague, Labarga said the state showed no compelling interest in muzzling audiophiles who also prefer to feel their favorite music.

"The right to play music, including amplified music, in public fora is protected under the First Amendment," Labarga wrote.

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When I was in my younger years, first place of my own, I had a visit from the police complaining about my music, I asked who had complained as it was the middle of the day, they said

'No-one, we could hear it as we drove past your house with the windows up'

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When I was in my younger years, first place of my own, I had a visit from the police complaining about my music, I asked who had complained as it was the middle of the day, they said

'No-one, we could hear it as we drove past your house with the windows up'

haha, amazing! :D

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Motorists traveling by hospitals, schools and churches were subjected to even stricter standards.

This ****es me off even more!

Before I moved to where I am living now I stayed pretty close to a big church (Ned Geref Kerk, this church is huge in our country, mainly frequented by the Afrikaans speaking people of our country) and every Sunday morning this bloody church would set off their electronic bells at 7.00am (first call), then 7.30am (second call) then the last time at 8.00am! Let me tell you it was loud enough to wake you up which it duly did every blasted Sunday! The point that I'm driving at is, why should people who DO NOT go too church (or that particular church) have to be disturbed at that time on a Sunday morning? I could guarantee my salary that once this church had started a service and I pulled up outside in my car and blasted my music at any decent volume the police would be there in one second flat! Hospitals and schools (to a lesser degree) I can understand.

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When I was in my younger years, first place of my own, I had a visit from the police complaining about my music, I asked who had complained as it was the middle of the day, they said

'No-one, we could hear it as we drove past your house with the windows up'

That was loud. Are you wearing hearing aids today? :D

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When I was in my younger years, first place of my own, I had a visit from the police complaining about my music, I asked who had complained as it was the middle of the day, they said

'No-one, we could hear it as we drove past your house with the windows up'

you are legally allowed to be as loud as you wish between the hours of 6 and 6 ... (am to pm ) though i keep getting asked by my on site security to turn down the music cause of other residence complaining sadly i have to comply because they can evict me for farting to loud ...

but when driving .... thats my time... my wing mirrors shake from the base :D

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you are legally allowed to be as loud as you wish between the hours of 6 and 6 ... (am to pm ) though i keep getting asked by my on site security to turn down the music cause of other residence complaining sadly i have to comply because they can evict me for farting to loud ...

but when driving .... thats my time... my wing mirrors shake from the base :D

lol, you have to reasonable dude even if they couldn't evict you. don't be a dick about it :)

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you are legally allowed to be as loud as you wish between the hours of 6 and 6 ... (am to pm ) though i keep getting asked by my on site security to turn down the music cause of other residence complaining sadly i have to comply because they can evict me for farting to loud ...

but when driving .... thats my time... my wing mirrors shake from the base :D

AM to PM? :o

That's where I've been going wrong then....I thought PM to AM... :p Joking

I think the music was a bit of an excuse, I can remember them poking around in my ashtrays while they were there too

Yea I had a silly number of speakers hooked to an amp, speakers were in 2 or 3 rooms and looking back probably threw out 100dB of treble and 5w of bass lol

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Personally, I'm fine with loud music as long it's good loud music and it's during the day. I hate it when some d-bag drives by at 12 in the morning with bass turned up on his cheap ass speakers, listening to some rap song that's older than the hills.

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AM to PM? :o

That's where I've been going wrong then....I thought PM to AM... :p Joking

I think the music was a bit of an excuse, I can remember them poking around in my ashtrays while they were there too

Yea I had a silly number of speakers hooked to an amp, speakers were in 2 or 3 rooms and looking back probably threw out 100dB of treble and 5w of bass lol

who would put a joint out in an ash tray that just bad practice xD

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