The state Supreme Court refused Friday to set aside its order dimming a man's eye-popping display of 3 million Christmas lights.
Jennings Osborne was ordered Dec. 5 to tone down his display enough to reduce the crowds that have been drawn to his well-to-do neighborhood.Osborne asked the court Tuesday to let him turn on the lights and music at his home while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews whether his religious rights were violated. He also argued that the high court's ruling was too broad.
Both arguments were rejected.
"This court's directives . . . are clear and unambiguous," the order said. "Massive commercial lighting displays generated by commercial transformers are not appropriate in quiet residential neighborhoods."
Osborne's neighbors took him to court last year, saying the display was disruptive, obnoxious and potentially unsafe because of the crowds. Osborne, who has put up a display for 14 years, said he has a right to celebrate Christmas any way he wants.