Helmet Tickets > By Dennis Pelham > Daily Telegram > Posted Jun 24, 2010 @ 05:08 PM > ADRIAN, Mich. —Motorcyclists fighting unapproved helmet tickets they > received this spring from Adrian police were notified last week the > cases are being dropped. > > Legal issues brought up in Lenawee County District Court by an > attorney for a motorcycle rights group are the same ones involved in a > lawsuit in federal court in Grand Rapids, said Adrian City Attorney > Sarah Osburn. Rather than leave the half-dozen tickets pending in > Lenawee County District Court for months or years while the federal > case is decided, she said, the tickets were dismissed. > > Depending on the outcome of the federal lawsuit, she said, it is > possible the tickets could be reinstated. But that has not been > decided, Osburn said. > > Helmet enforcement in Adrian this spring drew the attention of ABATE > of Michigan Inc. An attorney for the state’s chapter of American > Bikers Aiming Toward Education showed up for an April 20 hearing on a > challenged helmet ticket in district court, along with about 20 local > members of the group. > > Osburn said she and Sgt. Lynn Courington, who wrote the helmet > tickets, agreed to drop enforcement action until the federal lawsuit > defines how the helmet law is to be applied. > > Courington, a motorcycle instructor and enthusiast, said there was > nothing personal about the enforcement actions or the decision to wait > for legal issues to clear up. > > “Whatever the law says to do, that’s what you do,” he said Wednesday. > > Martin Richardson, one of the first motorcyclists to fight the helmet > tickets, said he was happy to learn the city is dropping the cases. > > “I did not think it was appropriate the way it was handled,” > Richardson said. He said he felt his rights were being abused when he > was stopped and his helmet taken for evidence, forcing him to wait for > a friend to bring him another helmet before he could ride home. > > A federal judge in Grand Rapids agreed in April to decide a claim by > ABATE that Michigan’s helmet law is being illegally enforced by police > who stop riders on suspicion of wearing an unapproved helmet. The > group claims there is no method for police to determine if helmets > meet federal Department of Transportation requirements without looking > inside the headgear, making the stops illegal searches.
Rogue Sturgis Freedom Fighters Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Member 2005 |
