For those of you who knew about BOLT, but haven't heard anything for awhile, this serves to let you know that the group is still active and working in the judicial arena.

We came close to repealing the Nevada helmet law, but legislators there chose to ignore the testimony of the commander of the State Patrol, who said the law was unenforceable. They listened to a representative of NHTSA instead, who lied through his teeth and gave wrong information. The following is an October 14th release from Associated Press.

Lawsuit challenges constitutionality of Nevada helmet law

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Two members of a California biker group are challenging Nevada's motorcycle helmet law in federal court, saying the measure is unconstitutionally vague and impossible to follow.

Nevada's law violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, said Kate Wells, a Santa Cruz, Calif., lawyer representing Steve Bianco and Richard Quigley, members of the group Bikers of Lesser Tolerance.

A ruling in the case could invalidate helmet laws in Nevada and elsewhere around the country, Wells told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Thursday report.

The lawsuit was first filed in April in U.S. District Court in Southern California. It was transferred in August to U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, and names the Las Vegas Police Department as the main defendant. Bianco and Quigley had planned to attend a motorcycle event in Nevada and wanted clarification of the law, Wells said. They exchanged e-mails with Las Vegas police, who told them it would be up to the judgment of officers whether a helmet was legal.

Nevada law requires motorcyclists to wear U.S. Department of Transportation -approved helmets, Wells said. But the federal agency does not provide such approvals, she said. Those targeted by police usually are wearing "bucket" style helmets, which cover less of the rider's head than full-face helmets, she said.

The Clark County district attorney's office is representing Las Vegas police. Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Cohen said the case was in preliminary stages, with a status report due Monday. Wells said the Nevada attorney general's office and the chief of the Nevada Highway Patrol have acknowledged problems with the law.

"In California, a violation is an infraction, which means a citation and release," she said. "But Nevada's law is punishable by a year in jail. A person could be arrested and the bike impounded." An effort by the bikers group to change Nevada's law in the 2003 state Legislature was unsuccessful, Wells said.