Singing the Blues
posted by Dave Hoffman
A nice story illlustrating a conflicts of rights problem from Philadelphia:
Maybe you’ve heard about the case of Anthony Riley, the cherubic American Idol wannabe with the angelic tenor who didn’t see why he should stop singing in Rittenhouse Square.Charged with disorderly conduct, he has his day in court July 3.
Since being cuffed and spending 18 hours in jail, Riley’s seen his star rise, singing for City Council, appearing on local television. He’s become the smiling face of a city-wide movement of those who believe music is free speech, and that police have better things to do than arrest someone singing “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Hard to argue with that.
But you probably haven’t heard from Jonathan Frank, who lives 11 floors above that jewel of a square, in a most rarefied prison.
“I represent the other side of the argument,” he says, sitting in his living room amid hundreds of books, a humming floor fan, and a pair of noise-canceling headphones bought for $35 at a store for hunters.
The rest of the column is pretty good too, especially the part where Riley asked the cop arresting him for the relevant statutory basis. The cop’s response: I am the law. Classic.
[Photo Credit: Law Records.]
June 25, 2007 at 4:46 am
Posted in: First Amendment
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