RESOURCES: Legal Cases

Nantucket’s “Transient Vendor Bylaw” deprives buskers of their First Amendment rights. Accepting contributions does not dilute your rights. Needing to get approval (i.e. auditioning) is “unqualified censorship”.

Expression about philosophical, social, artistic, economic, literary or ethical matters… is entitled to full First Amendment protection

Stations are traditional public forums and the Guidelines* are unconstitutional regulations for such locations. Permit requirement is overbroad and fails to make a distinction between individual activity and parade-type activity.

The First Amendment fully protects soliciting donations for busking and selling merch on the streets. There is no justification for allowing NPOs to sell items and solicit donations, while banning others from the same activities.*

Musical performances, even performances conducted with small musical instruments or even singing , cannot be shown to impact pedestrian traffic. This law* criminalises wholly-innocent activities.

A permitting requirement is a prior restraint on speech. The City’s interests in punishing wrongful conduct could be achieved just as effectively without the permitting regulation.

Annoying some pedestrians (even making them walk into the street infrequently) does not outweigh First Amendment rights. The sidewalk is a traditional First Amendment area. Parks/Plazas do not offer “an adequate alternative forum”.

There’s no necessary connection between amplified music and loud music, so the amplifier ban suppresses more speech than necessary to reduce noise.

Just as the First Amendment protects buskers’ expression, it also extends special protection to the places where they want to perform (sidewalks). The sidewalks in the areas covered by the ordinance* are “public forums”, because of this the government’s ability to permissibly restrict busking there is very limited.

NYC busker permit for amplifiers is too expensive* and does not consider buskers’ economies. Police officers cannot use their discretion to determine appropiate volume levels. The confiscation of instruments/amplifiers is unconstitutional.

The Ordinance’s license requirement* unconstitutionally infringes on the artists’ First Amendment rights to sell their work in public places.

“We have made it clear in the statutory guidance…that they should not use the new powers to stop reasonable activities such as busking or other forms of street entertainment that are not causing anti-social behaviour.

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