NC Trial Dates and Comments
My next trial date will be on January 26, 2009 in Wake County Superior Court.
This is a jury trial in courtroom 2D. I have to show up in the morning. I expect the trial won't be until 2pm or later. I let the DA know that they should set aside at least 4 hours.
According to the DA's office, the judge could be Howard Manning, Paul Ridgeway, or ? Stanback. Manning is known for the Leandro v NC case which decided that all students are entitled to a decent education. Neither he nor Ridgeway are timid about issuing statewide injunctions. Ridgeway is known for allowing witness to swear on religious text other than a bible. I think both of them are capable of being the type of judge that will recognize constitutional vagueness and understand that the state was wrong to enact laws in violation of due process.
My legal brief has been on file with the court and DA for months. I doubt a judge has even looked at it and don't expect they will before the trial begins. I expect the ADA, who will be Boz Zellinger, might skim it and try to pick out one mistake and try to focus on that.
If the jury finds me guilty, I will immediately appeal. In any event, I will continue to motion for an injunction.
Ron's next court appearance, also an appeal, is in March. I'll ask him to post the exact date.
court case
I received my helmet ticket in September 2008 and still fighting it in court. Justice is slow, but we will prevail if we fight it and work together. My last court appearance in Superior Court was 26 March 2009 when I informed the judge I wanted a trial by a jury of 12 (preferably all bikers). Thanks to Jan I have been studying the 218 standard and laws and case laws and --well you name it I have tried to understand it. After many months of studying this law, and still not sure with certainty what a 218 compliant helmet is, I honestly don't know how this law can continue on being enforced as it is written if it takes the average rider months of study to try and determine what the law is. This is the most absurd/confusing law I have ever seen. My final court day will be sometime during the first two weeks in June 2009. I am seeking not just a not guilty verdict but also an injunction against the current helmet law to stop all enforcement of it until our legislators enacts new legislation which is not vague, is assessible and easily understood by all motorcycle operators and compliance and non compliance can be ascertained by law enforcement.
"Justice" is slow and rare.
I found no justice in the way the courts operate and there was no sense in the judges' verdict. I proved that helmets are self-certified by the helmet manufacturers as being compliant with FMVSS 218, and then the helmet maker got on the stand and testified that he certified the helmet compliant. I also showed that even the experts disagree about what helmets are compliant and what are not. There is no way in hell that I would have been found guilty if the courts were just. After a total of about 10 hours of trial, it all came down to Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens being able to do whatever Judge Stephens wants to do, and he did not have to provide an explanation. Hopefully, you will be able to get the jury to understand what is going on, and they will care to see not only that justice prevails, but that important constitutional principles are not trampled on. The way I look at it, I was not the only one who lost. The people lost much more than I did. Since I could not afford the next step in an appeal, my recourse will be to actively campaign against the re-election of Judge Donald Stephens. That is how it works, and the only recourse, when judges have to answer to nobody.
On second Helmet ticket now
As most of you already know,, my case was dismissed in June 2009 for my ballcap helmet ticket just before I was to go to Superior court and have a 12 member jury decide my guilt or innocense. The DA did not want to try me and my case in court....I had a good soild strong case and they knew it. I now am working on my second ticket--which goes to trial (first of many I am sure) in late August. Been kinda sickly the past 4 weeks--but when I shake this off I am gonna get my third helmet ticket right away so I can have several to show the judge and the jurors, to prove that the police are writing many tickets and not just an isolated one every now and then. To show that this is indeed a problem for us bikers. There is an article in July's Full Throttle magazine about my case being dismissed and also will be an article in the October BIKER magazine which is due out next week (August) on the magazine stands. I know several of us also have been hitting our legislators hard recently on SB 64--that's great.. but don't stop writing to them either about helmet repeal. Send em education material whenever you run across some good stuff. Keep pounding em hard-=-don't stop. Make em wish they had never met you and make em vote for a helemt repeal the next time we get a bill in just to get you off their backs. :-) Everyone stay cool--stay busy working on helmet repeal, and stay safe.
Ron
Dismissals in Superior Court are good.
The courts are supposed to act in a uniform manner. Ron was in Superior Court, ready to go to a jury trial but the DA decided to dismiss. The fact that the DA in one county is dismissing helmet tickets can influence other counties, so please don't discount this as unimportant to an eventual win across the state. It can now be shown that the county, therefore the state, has reasons to not prosecute helmet tickets.
update on 2nd helmet ticket
My court date is set for 26th Sep in District Court. The idiotic moron that was judge during my first District court trial for my first helmet ticket has retired and we have a newly elected judge in now. Will see and find out if this new judge wants to deal with law as it is written--or if he wants to be a big headed power hungry judge also and make laws up as he rules from his high horse. Stay Tuned! Ron
Rons' district court hearing 9/28/09
Ron asked me to write this up.
Monday 9/28/09, Ron was in Henderson County District Court , charged by Trooper DG Parker, NC State Highway Patrol, with violating the helmet statute. The judge was there from a neighboring county.
The trooper testified, occasionally referring to a document he had with him.
Note: If you are ever in this situation, try this: "Objection, witness appears to be reading from something not in evidence rather than testifying."
After the prosecutor asked questions of the trooper, Ron had an opportunity to begin asking questions. The judge homed in on the troopers testimony that Rons' helmet had no strap, and asked Ron about it. Ron started explaining that federal law preempts state law due to the states use of FMVSS 218 in the statute, but the judge would not hear anything about federal laws, asked the trooper to step down, and asked Ron why his ballcap helmet didn't have a chin strap. The judge was trying to compel Ron to testify, but Ron asserted his 5th Amendment rights (court cannot force him to testify), and tried to proceed by informing the court that state law is preempted. The judge quickly cut him off, was belligerent, and had a tizzy fit, complaining about the bikers in Rutherford County who try to trick him. Ron told the judge that if he was going to prevent him from presenting a defense, then he'll appeal to Superior Court. He was given a date to appear in Superior Court, and expects the actual trial might be in January. The trial will be considered "de novo", which means new trial.
Ron was hoping for a fair hearing with a better outcome in district court, in order to set some precedence for easier district court hearings for all, but superior court was plan B all along, if necessary. If the NC Judicial System wants to create a situation in which way too much time and money is spent on enforcing and trying this helmet statute, then that is the way it is going to have to be. Procedural errors, which show how the trial court erred, can be used as a basis for future appeals.
jan
Best of luck glad to see we
Best of luck glad to see we still have a few patriots willing to stand up against big brother
PGR member - http://www.patriotguard.org
MSF Graduate for lower insurance rate - http://www.msf-usa.org/
CC_CBA/ABATE - http://forums.delphiforums.com/CC_CBA_ABATE
http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php
One trial today and one in a couple weeks.
Thanks Blueie. There are a few of us left, and I am optimistic that there will be more. My regards to Gaston County bikers. We have some mutual friends. Also PGR. (I joined them when they first formed; am still a member).
My superior court trial went well and lasted two days. What a waste of court and police time when they could be going after actual criminals. We need judges that respect the Bill of Rights, Constitution, and laws as written. It brings a whole new meaning to my understanding of what Rep Bill Faison said, when a rep voiced her concern about constitutionality. "That's why we pay the judges high dollars". At first, I thought he meant they are paid the high dollars to determine constitutionality issues. Now I see that I was giving judges more credit than they generally deserve. I know how things really are. I see that what is really happening is that some crooked judges represent government interests regardless of the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment. When we get judges that represent state interests no matter what, we need to continue our appeals to the appellate courts. The state spent thousands to prosecute my $25 helmet ticket, and in the end the money stayed in my pocket. I truly believe that if the bikers of NC got behind me and the arguments I've prepared in going after an injunction, we could blow away the helmet law in higher courts as being vague therefore unconstitutional as written. Taxpayers should be really perturbed that the government bogs down the court system and takes cops off the streets for days in order to collect a $25.50 fine (that's what the fine is now. The court costs have also increased to about $100). Anyhow, in the end, the state did NOT force me to part with even a penny - they knew I'd take it all the way to the supreme court if necessary, and they would likely end up losing. This is the helmet I was ticketed for.
There are two more Superior Court trials we have our eye on this month! Matt is in superior court today! His situation is real interesting. The prosecution has complete control over scheduling in NC so they intentionally arranged things so that he has to go to trial when his lawyer from Virginia is not available. Matt was wearing the same helmet he has worn for years. Ron will be in Superior Court in a couple weeks, and is totally prepared, so that should also be a good case.