As those who have been to Tom's house remember, he had a musical studio in his basement, and often practiced down there with his band. One day around 15 years ago a neighbor called to complain about the noise, and Tom received a noise ticket from the police. This is actually a misdemeanor under city ordinance. Tom was incredulous on several levels. First, he couldn't believe that the sound would bother anyone. He was doing his Hank Williams tribute music at the time, and his basement studio was heavily insulated. Not exactly head-banger stuff! Second, he was upset at being ticketed instead of just warned. Third, he didn't believe the law was constitutional (and neither did I). Apparently he learned that I had been litigating the constitutionality of Ann Arbor's noise ordinance. He asked me to represent him and I said yes. We had a case with Judge Connors and I think Bob West was the City Attorney prosecuting the case. I filed all sorts of motions and challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance; we had an evidentiary hearing; both Judge Connors and Mr. West were quite tired of the case by this time. Judge Connors routinely denied all my motions. Eventually, we reached an agreement: if Tom's band would play at the Washtenaw County Bar Association's annual "Bar Revue," a fundraiser for Legal Services, the case would be dismissed. Tom agreed and so went the most unusual plea bargain I've ever reached. Nick Roumel