NEW YORK — A preacher found relief on April 6 when an appeals court ruled that Ithaca, N.Y., selectively used its noise ordinance to silence him in violation of his rights to free speech, equal protection and freedom of religion.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a federal judge in Albany to declare victory for Kevin Deegan, saying it found the noise ordinance "cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny."

Deegan had sued Ithaca, its attorney and its chief of police in a bid to strike down the ordinance in the college town 45 miles south of Syracuse.

The ordinance, which prohibits speech that can be heard 25 feet away, led the West Seneca, N.Y., resident to stop preaching on Oct. 9, 1999, after a police officer threatened to arrest him after a complaint by a local business employee.

The appeals court noted that Deegan said he had heard a singing group 200 feet away and people talking more than 25 feet from him but they were left undisturbed.

The appeals court said the Ithaca noise regulation did not give fair notice that speaking in a voice that could be heard 25 feet away constitutes "unreasonable noise."

It also said the decibel level of speech that would comply with the 25-foot rule was often lower than the decibel level generated by the steps of a person in high-heeled boots, conversation among several people, the opening and closing of a door, the sounds of a small child on a playground or the ring of a cell phone.

"These facts so vividly illustrate that the regulations as applied restrict considerably more than is necessary to eliminate excessive noise that we need hardly say more," the appeals court wrote.

In court papers, Deegan said he felt a duty as a Christian to preach and had spoken for more than 20 years in a raised voice to passersby in public areas such as parks, malls, streets and sidewalks.

He said he could not communicate properly if he could not be heard from 25 feet away and compliance with the Ithaca ordinance effectively silenced him.

A lower court ruling that tossed out the case reasoned that Deegan had failed to prove he was unfairly singled out and that others who were as loud or louder may have had permits.

A telephone message left with a lawyer for the city was not returned on April 6.