Fight that NC Helmet Ticket!

We are creating a robust system and database called the Ticket Information Tracking System (T.I.T.S.). The purpose is to track North Carolina helmet tickets and get some help to you so you can fight yours. This is a volunteer effort for biker rights in an effort to fight the helmet laws in the courts.

We proposed to the North Carolina legislature that their helmet law bill is vague, making it unconstitutional, but some of them scoffed, saying “that is why we pay judges high dollars”, and voted it in anyways.

To Use the Ticket Information Tracking System, first you will need to Register. When you register, you will be emailed an activation link. Once activated, you can click on Home and then Log In.. At that point, you will be able to view helmet tickets and will be able to see information resources that are not available to people who are not registered.
If you have a helmet ticket, and would like to Log Tickets or write an article, the administrator will have to upgrade your account to Author. You can request this by clicking on Contact Us. Please tell us you need to be upgraded to Author so that you can Log Your Ticket. As soon as your account is upgraded, we will let you know and send you a Ticket Information Tracking System User Manual.

Terry Malpass fights helmet ticket and WINS in Lenoir County, NC:
Terry didn’t know much about helmet laws, and never thought he’d get a ticket for wearing a helmet a cop disapproved of. After all, he is a law-abiding, responsible adult and knows how to dress himself without the help of government. So when he got a ticket, he checked into how we’ve been telling people to fight the helmet tickets rather than just pay the fines. The deeper he dug, the more he learned about how to fight a helmet ticket in court, and why it is necessary for the good of biker rights. Thanks to his excellent preparation before trial, perhaps the cops will have second thoughts the next time they consider enforcing a vague and unconstitutional helmet statute. Read more at Terry Malpass Wins.

The statute they are citing you under is GS 20-140.4 and there is no list of approved helmets, making the law vague. If a law is vague, the US Constitution says the law is faulty. No List, No Law!

Be forewarned, that we are not attorneys, so we cannot give you legal advice, but we can give you information about the helmet laws and other helmet ticket cases. We are also creating a network of attorneys who are committed to helping you get your ticket dismissed.

When you go to court, the first time it will just be for an arraignment. You should be ready to fight the ticket, just in case the court will listen to you at that time. At that time, the district attorney or the assistant district attorney is likely to ask you to plead guilty and pay the fine and court costs. DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY! They do not want this to go to trial, but you should!

Every time you plead NOT GUILTY to a helmet ticket infraction, instead of generating approximately $40 in revenue profits for the state, it ends up costing the state about $800, no matter if you win or lose.

Do the math. If 2000 bikers plead NOT GUILT, regardless if they win or lose, it will cost the state $1.6MILLION, making it a loss of revenue for the state to continue enforcement of this statute. If just 1 in 20 bikers PLEAD NOT GUILTY, the enforcement causes deficit rather revenue. The right to a trial is a constitutional right, and cannot be denied you, if you show up at your arraignment and PLEAD NOT GUILTY.

In NC, the fine for a rider is $25, and the court costs are $75, regardless if you pay the fine or exercise your right to a trial. There is some dispute as to whether the state is appropriately fining for passengers. The court and some Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) are using the same table for both rider and passengers. We believe there is possible argument and that the passenger should be charged a fine of just $10 and no court costs, but that is something you may have to ask the court to review GS 20-135.2a, sections (e) and (f) during sentencing.

Since it is an infraction, the state will not allow you a court appointed attorney. Yeah, I know. I don’t think it’s fair either, but that’s the way it is.

Depending on the court, your first visit might be an arraignment or you might be tried on the spot or told to report to another courtroom for a trial. If you are not prepared to go to trial, you may ask for a continuance. If the prosecution is ready to proceed, the court might not allow a continuance. To prepare well for court will require that you do some homework. Please review the NC Helmet Defense Package courtesy of Fast Fred (ABATE of SC). A good court battle will have a similar statement. At minimum, so that the judge will take you seriously, you should be armed with a copy of the current statute, GS 20-140.4 and be knowledgeable about the defense package.

Most of the tickets issued by LEO prior to, and after, 1/1/08 will be for non-DOT helmets. Until the new revisions take effect on New Years Day, 2008, the law states you must wear a helmet “of a type approved by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles”. The officers have been misinformed, because the law doesn’t say that it must be a DOT approved helmet, and the DMV has no list of approved helmets. The DMV has published some suggestions, but they have no list. In the absence of a list, the law is vague and you should be able to ask the judge to find you not guilty on constitutional grounds due to vagueness.

Again, the basis of your argument (and we mean argument in the nicest possible way) is  the law doesn’t say that it must be a DOT approved helmet, and the DMV has no list of approved helmets.

You should go into the trial with an understanding that the judge may dismiss the charges, or might find you not guilty, or might find you guilty, so be prepared to pay the court $100, in the event the judge rules against you. Also, you might decide in advance if you are going to tell the judge you want to appeal.

APPEALS ARE AN EXTREMELY RARE OPPORTUNITY!
Opportunites to get a helmet law infraction case into an appeal situation are terribly rare, and one case can set precendence for all other cases, so they are critically important to our cause. If your case gets to the appelate court, we definitely recommend an attorney. Important: PLEASE let us know if you get a case into the Court of Appeals.
Just pick up the phone and call either Mark (336)885-5400 or Janice (919)342-0403 and we’ll do our best to help you find all the resources you need to make your appeal successful. There are tons of resources and we’re adding to them all the time!

ATTORNEYS: Mark and Janice, in a united effort with biker rights organizations, are building a network of attorney across the state who are willing to defend helmet cases for an amount less than the total fine plus court costs, and have some attorneys who have agreed to taking such cases for $50. If you would like to defend helmet law cases, please contact Mark or Janice at the above numbers. Even if you have never defended a helmet ticket case, we have researched the case arguments, and can save you time by getting the information you need. We are also putting together presentations to acquaint attorneys with strategies we have researched. More info about attending these presentations will be posted here in the future.