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American Morning

In Hartford, Connecticut, Everyone's Not Screaming For Ice Cream

Aired May 01, 2002 - 08:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Remember that sound? Not the AMERICAN MORNING theme, but that sound. For many of us, it triggers pleasant childhood memories.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not young, but when I hear that bell, it's like, oh, I got a banana split coming or, you know, a shake.

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CAFFERTY: However, some residents of Hartford, Connecticut are giving Mr. Softee's jingles a decidedly icy reception.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you turn that off? That's illegal. I'm sick of listening to you.

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CAFFERTY: Now, they're only not screaming for ice cream, they say Mr. Softee owner Felix Rios is violating a Hartford, Connecticut noise ordnance, and now Mr. Rios will have some explaining to do in court.

He joins us this morning from Connecticut to talk about his pending case. He's also joined by his lawyer, Ron Johnson. And on the other side of this tempest in the sugar comb is the Hartford resident who brought the complaint, Wilbur Troutman, and we'll try to keep this in good humor as we go forward.

They put every pun imaginable in this.

Mr. Troutman, You understand, you are perceived, at least in the beginning of this discussion, as this mean guy who is trying to ruin summertime for the little kids up there. What's the problem with the music?

WILBUR TROUTMAN, PLAINTIFF: Well, I don't think is so much a problem with the music. I don't think the issue is really about noise. I don't think the issue is really about ice cream. The issue really has to do with the invasion of our privacy on our street by the vendors who disobey the city's ordinance against broadcasting loud music into our homes.

CAFFERTY: And it doesn't bother you that by taking up this cause you're being perhaps perceived as the Grinch who's trying to steal summertime?

TROUTMAN: Yes, it does bother me, because I do like children, and I certainly want them to enjoy ice cream. But at the same time, I want to be able to enjoy my home life, and I want other residents of the city to be able to carry on our normal social institutions.

Let me give you an example what I mean by that. Last Saturday, there are masses being conducted over at St. Augustine Church, and it had to be stopped while Mr. Softee purveyed his cones outside and broadcast his loudspeaker sounds into the church. I hear tell that there was a wedding that was stopped recently because of the blasting of sound into the marital service. In fact, the bride...

CAFFERTY: Let's get Mr. Rios to weigh in on this thing here.

Mr. Rios, the ordinance in Hartford, as I have it here, says that there should be no audible amplification within 300 feet of a person, and no loudspeakers used for advertising.

I'm no lawyer, but based on what I'm reading concerning the ordinance, it sounds to me like you're breaking the law. Why don't you just turn the music down?

FELIX RIOS, OWNER, MR. SOFTEE: Well, I've been complying, but it's just one side of town that gave the complaint, and I mean, most of the residents in Hartford, Connecticut, they agree with...

CAFFERTY: The law is the law. I mean, it's not a matter of public opinion here. They have an ordinance against this noise, and you've been cited four different times for violating that ordinance. Now, are you ready to, like, go to jail for this? I mean, it does call for up to 25 days in jail, the penalty? Are you ready to go to jail for playing this Mr. Softee music?

RIOS: Before they do that, they have to come with a meter, because they say it's loud, but nobody has measured how loud it is. You have to measure...

CAFFERTY: All right, let me ask your lawyer to weigh in here, Mr. Johnson.

There's an ordinance that says no audible amplification within 300 feet of a person and no loud speakers used for advertising. If that ordinance is being violated and if that music is offensive to the people where Mr. Rios is plying his trade, why shouldn't he be held accountable? What makes you think he's right here?

RON JOHNSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, we feel that in terms of the ordnance, that the ordnance is unconstitutional. Mr. Rios is standing on the principle on his First Amendment right to commercial- free speech, and we feel that the way the ordinance is written, the statute is written, it is vague. CAFFERTY: Mr. Johnson, there are noise ordinances in every community in America, including New York City. I'm not sure anybody has found them unconstitutional at this point.

JOHNSON: What we're saying is that the way the statute is written is very vague. It doesn't distinguish between commercial-free speech and loud noise. It's very vague, and we are going to challenge that. We're scheduled to be in court on Friday. We are going to file a motion to dismiss, and we are going to challenge the statute.

CAFFERTY: And the judge has agreed to listen to the Mr. Softee truck and kind of make a decision on whether he thinks it's too loud or not, right?

JOHNSON: The way the statute is written, it's very subjective in terms of -- to an ordinary person or reasonable person, it's vague. And I don't think that my client should have to stop practicing commercial commerce in his job. So we're going to challenge it. We're looking forward to it on Friday.

CAFFERTY: All right, we plan to cover the hearing before the Supreme Court of the United States when it gets that far. We will have several CNN correspondents there.

I thank you for joining us this morning. It's all in good fun. Mr. Troutman, who brought the complaint. We lost the satellite, but he assured us he's a nice man. He's not trying to ruin the kids summer, but he doesn't like listening to the noise.

We will follow the story. We will report the judge's decision, and I thank Felix Rios, Ron Johnson, and Wilbur Troutman.

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