News Bytes
THE AIM / NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists ( A . I . M .) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists ( NCOM ), and is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M . Lester . If you ’ ve been involved in any kind of accident , call us at 1- ( 800 ) ON-A-BIKE or visit www . ON-A- BIKE . com . NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish , National Coalition of Motorcyclists ( NCOM )
PROSECUTOR DROPS EFFORT TO SEIZE DEVILS DI- CIPLES TRADEMARK ‘ COLORS ’ As Motorcycle Clubs continue to fight to save their patch , federal prosecutors have dropped a controversial bid to seize the trademark owned by the Devils Diciples MC , though the move does not end trademark challenges involving club colors . In filings made on August 29 , 2016 in federal court in Detroit , the U . S . Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan filed a notice dismissing the DDMC Trademark forfeiture , which states ; “ The government hereby provides notice that it is not seeking to forfeit the DDMC Trademark in this criminal proceeding and hereby dismisses it from the First Forfeiture Bill of Particulars .” Most law enforcement asset-forfeiture efforts target conventional property , but prosecutors began trying to seize the Devils Diciples ’ trademark as a byproduct of a criminal case in which prosecutors in October 2014 itemized property they wanted to seize , from guns to slot machines , and at the end of the 32- page property listing prosecutors included the club ’ s trademark . “ These trademark cases are important to the clubs , whose free association has been threatened by the attempts by ( prosecutors ) to enjoin use of their membership ( marks ) by non-indicted persons ,” Devils Diciples attorney Fritz Clapp told the Mc- ClatchyDC news site , adding that such cases have established important precedents regarding forfeiture of collective membership marks and the implications of free speech and association . The prosecutor ’ s decision now to leave the Devils Diciples ’ trademark alone does not put the brakes on other attempts to seize clubs ’ colors as , most notably , the government is still taking aim at the Mongol Nation , whose intellectual property has been sought by federal prosecutors since 2008 . A federal appellate court is now considering the Mongol Nation case .
OREGON BIKER SCORES A WIN IN DISCRIMINATION CASE After 14 years of spotless service , Ron Godwin was fired from his job as an Oregon youth corrections officer because of his club patch . A Grants Pass , Oregon police officer saw Godwin on his bike , wearing his club patch , called his boss and said Godwin was a member of a “ criminal gang .” After a brief , socalled investigation , Godwin ’ s boss fired him . Oregon ’ s AIM ( Aid to Injured Motorcyclists ) and COC ( Confederation of Clubs ) Attorney Sam Hochberg took up the case and filed suit in Federal Court in Medford , with assistance from lawyer Chris Bottoms . Depositions were taken , and with the
help of ACLU volunteer lawyer Sara K . Staggs , the case was thoroughly briefed . The trial court ruled that , based on statements in depositions , Godwin had no case under the law . The case never got to the jury , but the ruling was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals , and argued by ACLU volunteer lawyer Cody Hoesly . On August 10 , 2016 , a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit issued a 17-page Memorandum opinion , including one dissent , and reversed that decision , sending it back to District Court for trial . The panel analyzed cases about government employees ’ rights of free speech and association , and found the State showed no legitimate interest that outweighed Ron Godwin ’ s First Amendment rights . As a Memorandum decision , the “ unpublished ” ruling can be cited in any Federal Court , so it ’ s useful nationwide . “ This is an important decision for the free speech and free association rights of all bikers , and club members in particular ,” says Hochberg , now “ Of Counsel ” to Christopher Slater , the new Oregon and Washington AIM and Oregon COC Attorney . The case of Ronald Godwin v . Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility , et al , now goes back to the trial court , absent further appeal or settlement .
TRAFFIC STATISTICS SHOW RISE IN FATALITIES , FEDS ISSUE CALL TO ACTION Statistics compiled by the U . S . National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that 35,092 people died in traffic crashes in 2015 , ending a five-decade trend of declining fatalities with a 7.2 % increase in deaths , reflecting 2,348 more fatalities from motor vehicle crashes than in 2014 . Fatalities increased from 2014 to 2015 in almost all segments of the population — passenger vehicle occupants (+ 6.6 %), passenger cars (+ 5.7 %), large trucks (+ 11 %), SUV occupants (+ 10.1 %), van occupants (+ 9.3 %), pickup truck occupants (+ 4.7 %), pedestrians (+ 9.5 %), bicyclists (+ 12.2 %), motorcyclists (+ 8.3 %), alcohol-impaired driving fatalities (+ 3.2 %), male (+ 7.0 %) / female (+ 7.4 %), daytime (+ 7.2 %) / nighttime (+ 7.1 %). The estimated number of police-reported crashes increased by 3.8 %, from 6.0 to 6.3 million , and there were 105,000 more people injured in motor vehicle crashes . According to NHTSA , job growth and low fuel prices were two factors that led to increased driving , including increased leisure driving and driving by young people . More driving can contribute to higher fatality rates . In 2015 , vehicle miles traveled ( VMT ) increased 3.5 percent over 2014 , the largest increase since 1992 , nearly 25 years ago , though the fatality rate per 100 million VMT increased to 1.12 from 1.08 in 2014 which was the lowest since NHTSA began collecting fatality data through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System in 1975 . Upon releasing this new data , the U . S . Department of Transportation ( DOT ) issued a Call to Action : “ We are calling on data scientists , public health experts , students and researchers
30 Thunder Roads Magazine ® Colorado October 2016 www . thunderroadscolorado . com