People v. Schmidt
| Decision Date | 28 September 1967 |
| Citation | 283 N.Y.S.2d 290,54 Misc.2d 702 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Hans SCHMIDT IV, Appellant. |
| Court | New York County Court |
Defendant, a motorcycle rider, was convicted of violating Section 381, Sub. 6 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, State of New York, in the Justice Court, Town of Evans.
This subdivision reads:
The question raised in the trial court and upon appeal is the constitutionality of the subdivision. Two reported decisions, People v. Smallwood, 52 Misc.2d 1027, 277 N.Y.S.2d 429, and People v. Carmichael, 53 Misc.2d 584, 279 N.Y.S.2d 272, have held the law unconstitutional. In unreported cases there has been a division of opinion among judges of the City Court of Buffalo.
The statute's constitutionality has been attacked on two grounds: (1) that it is vague and uncertain and (2) that in regulating individual conduct, it is outside the scope of the police power of the state.
The argument that the subdivision is vague and uncertain is directed at the mandate that the helmet must be approved by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, that his list of approved helmets is not readily available to the public, and may be amended at any time. It is noted that other sections of the Vehicle and Traffic Law with reference to licensing, brake efficiency, headlamps, safety glass and directional signals vest similar power in the Commissioner.
The use and nature of protective helmets in industry, in athletics and in the military services is known generally to the public. An additional requirement for motorcycle riders is that both sides of the helmet be reflectorized. While the law makes no mention of shock resistance, the standard for the Commissioner would be sufficient...
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Com. v. Kautz
...case appellant cites, People v. Smallwood, 52 Misc.2d 1027, 277 N.Y.S.2d 429 (1967), has itself been overruled. See People v. Schmidt, 54 Misc.2d 702, 283 N.Y.S.2d 290 (1967). Further, promulgation of standards by the Department of Transportation represents a constitutional delegation of Fi......
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State v. Fetterly
...N.Y.S.2d 713 (Ithaca City Ct. 1968); People v. Beilmeyer, 54 Misc.2d 466, 282 N.Y.S.2d 797 (Buffalo City Ct. 1967); People v. Schmidt, 54 Misc.2d 702, 283 N.Y.S.2d 290 (Erie Co.Ct. 1967); State ex rel. Colvin v. Lombardi, 241 A.2d 625 (R.I. 1968); Bisenius v. Karns, 42 Wis.2d 42, 165 N.W.2d......
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State v. Eckblad
...(holding that statute requiring the wearing of a helmet approved by a state official was too vague); but cf. People v. Schmidt, 54 Misc.2d 702, 703, 283 N.Y.S.2d 290 (1967) (reaching opposite We have also been called upon to determine whether a motorcycle helmet law that depends, to some ex......
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State v. Darrah
...thereby being temporarily distracted and losing control as in Bisenius v. Karns, 42 Wis.2d 42, 165 N.W.2d 377, and People v. Schmidt, 54 Misc.2d 702, 283 N.Y.S.2d 290. In this connection it has been suggested that there has been no 'identification of precisely what constitutes the public ev......