Easyriders Freedom FIGHT v. Hannigan, 93-0807-J (CM).
| Decision Date | 25 May 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-0807-J (CM).,93-0807-J (CM). |
| Citation | 887 F. Supp. 240 |
| Parties | EASYRIDERS FREEDOM F.I.G.H.T., an unincorporated association of motorcyclists, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Maurice HANNIGAN, as Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
L. Louis Raring, Raring and Lipoff, Costa Mesa, CA, for plaintiffs.
Jill P. Armour, Atty. Gen., Office of the Atty. Gen., State of Cal., San Diego, CA, for state defendants.
C. Ellen Pilsecker, Office of County Counsel, San Diego, CA, for defendants Jim Roache, Brent Wagner aka Brent Walker.
Thomas J. Feeley, City of Huntington Beach and Stone & Feeley, Los Angeles, CA, for defendants Ronald Lowenberg, as Chief of Police of the City of Huntington Beach, Lloyd Edwards, M.P. Kelly, as an officer of the Huntington Beach Police Dept.
ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON REQUEST FOR PERMANENT INJUNCTION; ISSUING PERMANENT INJUNCTION.
This case is before the court on a motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' request that the court issue a permanent injunction against officials of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Plaintiffs are motorcyclists who have been issued citations under the California Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Law, California Vehicle Code § 27803, for wearing helmets that were alleged not to comply with federal safety standards. Plaintiffs ask the court to enjoin defendants, specifically officials of the California Highway Patrol,1 from enforcing the law in an unconstitutional manner.
Pursuant to section 27802, the Department of the California Highway Patrol has adopted Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 (FMVSS 218) as its sole standard to determine which helmets may legally be worn in California. "Motorcycle and motorized bicycle safety helmets governed by Vehicle Code Section 27802 shall meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218." 13 California Code of Regulations § 982.
FMVSS 218 is largely a technical standard which focuses on several characteristics of the helmet, many of which can be determined only through laboratory testing. Under the federal regulations, helmet manufacturers are responsible for undertaking their own testing to determine compliance with FMVSS 218. Helmet manufacturers certify that their helmets are in compliance with FMVSS 218 by placing a sticker on the outside of the helmet with the initials "DOT" for "Department of Transportation". 49 C.F.R. § 571.218. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducts its own safety testing of selected helmets to determine if they are in fact in compliance with FMVSS 218. If not in compliance, the manufacturers are asked by the United States Department of Transportation to conduct a voluntary recall of the helmet and to stop selling the helmet with the certification affixed. However, the helmet may still legally be sold without certification as a "novelty." If the manufacturer refuses to voluntarily recall the helmet, the government issues a statement of noncompliance.
In the context of the helmet law, a California court has interpreted section 27802 to mean that "it is clear the law requires only that the consumer wear a helmet bearing a certification of compliance." Buhl v. Hannigan, 16 Cal.App.4th 1612, 20 Cal.Rptr.2d 740 (1993). A later court has refined this statement to take into account the situation where a rider knows that a manufacturer certified helmet has been subsequently determined not to comply with FMVSS 218, but nevertheless continues to use the helmet. Bianco v. California Highway Patrol, 24 Cal. App.4th 1113, 29 Cal.Rptr.2d 711 (1994). Bianco held that "the statement in Buhl that consumer compliance with the state law only requires the consumer to wear a helmet bearing the DOT self-certification sticker does not apply when a helmet has been shown not to conform with federal standards and the consumer has actual knowledge of this fact." Id. at 1123, 29 Cal.Rptr.2d 711 (emphasis in original).
Based on the foregoing holdings of Buhl v. Hannigan, 16 Cal.App.4th 1612, 20 Cal.Rptr.2d 740 (1993) and Bianco v. California Highway Patrol, 24 Cal.App.4th 1113, 29 Cal.Rptr.2d 711 (1994), a motorcyclist will violate the law by wearing a substandard helmet in two situations:
Thus, according to the California courts' interpretation of the helmet law and the regulations promulgated thereunder, law enforcement officials should only issue a citation in two situations: (1) when a helmet does not bear a certification of compliance or (2) when a rider actually knows that a helmet was purchased with a certification of compliance has been shown not to conform to federal standards. In a previous order filed March 15, 1995, this court has held that these guidelines sufficiently narrow law enforcement discretion to overcome any argument that the law is void for vagueness under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Plaintiffs ask for an injunction which would prohibit defendants from enforcing the helmet law according to guidelines that do not conform to the law as interpreted by the California courts. According to the court's review of the evidence presented in connection with this motion, the parties do not dispute the fact that defendants cite motorcyclists wearing helmets which bear certifications of compliance, and that the citations are issued without regard to whether the motorcyclist has actual knowledge that a helmet has been shown not to comply with federal standards.
After reviewing the undisputed evidence in this case the court finds that the CHP has a clear official policy of allowing officers to stop motorcyclists and issue citations for substandard helmets based on the officer's subjective opinion of whether the helmet would, if tested, conform to federal safety standards. The CHP has a clear official policy of allowing officers to cite for allegedly substandard helmets regardless of whether the officer has reason to believe that there has been a determination of non-compliance with FMVSS 218 or that the motorcyclist has knowledge that the helmet has been determined not to comply with FMVSS 218.
The court also finds that it is an undisputed fact that plaintiffs have been cited for wearing helmets that CHP officers considered to be in violation of the helmet law, although (1) some of those helmets were in fact never determined to be substandard either through NHTSA testing, independent laboratory testing or a manufacturer recall and (2) of those helmets that had been determined to be in non-compliance, plaintiffs did not have actual knowledge of the determination.
Plaintiffs are unable to conform their conduct to the requirement of the helmet law as enforced by the CHP because they are unable to determine whether a CHP officer will or will not subjectively determine that a certain helmet would not meet FMVSS 218 if tested. Further, because the CHP continues to use its own discretion in determining which helmets are non-conforming and because plaintiffs are frequent motorcyclists wearing a variety of helmets of the type that the CHP has trained its officers likely do not meet federal safety standards, plaintiffs are at real and immediate risk of being cited under the helmet law once again. Based on the foregoing, plaintiffs have standing to bring this action for injunctive relief. See City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 103 S.Ct. 1660, 75 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983).
The court further finds that it is an undisputed fact the CHP has provided training or information to law enforcement agencies throughout California on how to determine whether a helmet likely would not conform to federal safety standards if tested. Plaintiffs have been cited by law enforcement agencies that follow guidelines that were developed in part with information provided by the CHP. Plaintiffs have also had their helmets confiscated by local law enforcement agencies.
The Fourth Amendment requires that law enforcement officials must have probable cause before making a warrantless arrest. Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964). Under California Penal Code section 853.5, the issuance of infraction citations such as those issued under the helmet law, constitutes an arrest. Further, the Fourth Amendment also requires that a law enforcement official have reasonable suspicion before making a traffic stop. See United States v. Cannon, 29 F.3d 472 (9th Cir.1994). Thus, a CHP officer acts contrary to the confines of the Fourth Amendment (1) when issuing a citation for a substandard helmet without probable cause to believe that the motorcyclist has violated the helmet law as that law is interpreted by the California courts or (2) when making a traffic stop without reasonable suspicion of the same.
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Easyriders Freedom F.I.G.H.T. v. Hannigan, s. 95-55946
...On May 25, 1995, the district court issued its decision on Easyriders' request for a permanent injunction. Easyriders Freedom F.I.G.H.T. v. Hannigan, 887 F.Supp. 240 (S.D.Cal.1995). The district court found that under the California helmet law as interpreted by Buhl and Bianco, a motorcycli......
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...for helmet violations without probable cause to believe they are violating the law. Mr. Spears relies on Easyriders Freedom F.I.G.H.T. v. Hannigan, 887 F.Supp. 240 (S.D.Cal.1995), vacated in part, 92 F.3d 1486 (9th Cir.1996), for the proposition that helmet laws which require officers to ma......