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CONGRESS MOVES TO DE-FUND MOTORCYCLE-ONLY CHECKPOINTS On November 5, the U. S. House of Representatives approved their version of the federal Highway Bill which, like the Senate companion measure, contains provisions of importance to motorcyclists, most notably the ban on federal funding of motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints. In addition to curbing the controversial roadblocks, the House bill also authorizes a motorcycle crash prevention study; revives the federal Motorcycle Advisory Council; continues off-road trails funding; and makes highway safety grants more accessible. Approved by a bipartisan vote of 363-64, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015( HR 3763) provides $ 325 billion in transportation funding over the next six years, corresponding to similar legislation passed by the U. S. Senate earlier this year. Unfortunately, the House highway bill does not include similar Senatorial language that would ban the U. S. DOT from lobbying local, state and federal governments on policy issues such as mandatory helmet laws, so it is important to contact your federal representatives to adopt such a compromise when the House and Senate convene a conference committee to iron out the details.
WACO INFO One hundred seventy-seven people were arrested and held on million dollar bonds following the melee in Waco, Texas in May that left nine bikers dead and nearly twenty wounded, and on November 10th prosecutors announced 106 felony indictments charging defendants with engaging in organized criminal activity.“ The Waco Grand Jury indictments on 106 individuals for engaging in organized crime are not convictions,” explains David“ Double D” Devereaux of the Motorcycle Profiling Project( www. MotorcycleProfilingProject. com),“ The Grand Jury only determines whether the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to indict. The Grand Jury only hears from the prosecutor, no defense attorneys are allowed, and does not make a determination on guilt.”“ Double D”, who is also a member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists’ Legislative Task Force( NCOM-LTF), says that as examining trials have made clear, the basis of the prosecutor’ s argument in many of these case relies solely on an individual’ s association with a motorcycle club that had members accused of committing a crime on May 17th.“ These indictments based solely on association, particularly the cases where the prosecutor admits that there is no evidence that the individual participated in any crime or violence, flies in the face of recent Federal Court precedent.” A U. S. District Court decision in Coles v. Carlini, 9 / 30 / 2015, relying on Supreme Court precedent, concluded that the government may not impose restrictions on an individual solely because of their membership in a MC, including a 1 % club that the government labels as a gang or criminal organization.“ The criminal activity of others does not justify
denying rights and privileges solely because of association with an unpopular organization,” according to Devereaux.“ Although I agree with many that are concerned about the seemingly broken Waco criminal justice system, recent Fed decisions seem to say that the underlying assumptions of an indictment based solely on association are unconstitutional,” said Devereaux in a prepared document titled“ Understanding the Waco Grand Jury Indictments.”“ The decision by the Waco Grand Jury comes as no surprise to many considering the obviously over-broad arrests, excessive bail, and unsuccessful challenges to probable cause during examining trials,” he concludes, adding that an overly-broad indictment affords the prosecution the ability to offer plea deals, shield themselves against lawsuits, and pressure defendants to testify.
IDAHO MOTORCYCLE CLUB WINS SETTLEMENT OVER CLUBHOUSE RAID Ten members of the Brother Speed MC, along with the club itself, will be splitting a $ 16,500 payment from the United States government, to settle their lawsuit over a 2013 raid on their Nampa clubhouse that yielded no charges. The club and its members sued numerous federal agents and the United States, saying their civil rights were violated when federal agents serving a search warrant broke down the door, set off flash-bang grenades, and sent dozens of heavily armed SWAT team members into the small home. The club members were detained for up to three hours while agents forcibly removed their personal property, including their clothing, and confiscated club memorabilia, according to the club’ s attorney, Craig Durham.“ These were regular guys minding their own business that night,” Durham told The Spokesman-Review newspaper.“ They were not a threat, and there was no call for the use of terrifying, military-style tactics to serve a simple search warrant.” The government admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement, under which the club will receive $ 4,000, and the individual members will receive payments ranging from $ 500 to $ 2,500.“ This was never about money,” said chapter president Daniel Bugli.“ It was about standing up for our rights as citizens and members of this community. Law enforcement officers shouldn’ t be able to run roughshod over people’ s rights based on speculation and assumptions.”
BIKERS’ LAWYER FILES CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT AGAINST VEGAS POLICE A Nevada lawyer who represents motorcycle clubs has filed a federal civil rights, false arrest and negligence lawsuit against Las Vegas police after he was acquitted in March of a misdemeanor obstruction charge. Southern Nevada Confederation of Clubs( COC) attorney Stephen Stubbs alleges that a Las Vegas practice of harassing motorcycle club members led to his arrest in November 2013, and that being found not guilty by a local judge showed
30 Thunder Roads Magazine ® Colorado December 2015 www. thunderroadscolorado. com