CA - Mongols Motorcycle Club will keep logo after judge dismisses federal indictment

OFF THE WIRE
  Brian Day
Source: sgvtribune.com

California -
SANTA ANA >> A U.S. District Court judge this week dismissed a federal indictment by which the government sought to seize control of the Mongols Motorcycle Club's iconic logo.
Federal Judge David O. Carter granted a defense motion for dismissal Wednesday filed on behalf of Mongols by attorneys Joe Yanny and Elliot Min of the Los Angeles-based law firm Yanny and Smith, court documents show.
detail of a logo on one of the motorcycles seized by Sheriff's deputies and ATF agents during a sweep that resulted in numerous arrests involving the Mongols motorcycle gang. (Staff Photo by Keith Durflinger)
Federal prosecutors obtained the indictment in February of 2013, alleging the Mongols logo, often scene on the patches on the distinctive leather vests worn by club members, was subject to government forfeiture under the RICO Act.

Following Wednesday's ruling in federal court in Santa Ana, "Their whole basis for attempting to forfeit the collective membership mark is dead meat," Yanny said.
Yanny commended the judge in the case, adding he could not recall another instance of a federal indictment being dismissed by a judge.

"It took a lot of guts for this judge to do what he did. He had to go against the grain," he said. "He was a courageous enough man to do the right thing. It restores my faith in the system."

members rally Saturday, March 29, 2013 at The House Lounge in Maywood in support of the Mongols who are facing a federal trial seeking to take away their trademark patch. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/Pasadena Star-News)
Prosecutors asserted the Mongols' logo was subject to forfeiture because the club is a criminal organization which uses the logo, "to identify its members and facilitate the coordination of criminal activity," according to Carter's order.

Federal prosectors continued weighing their options Thursday.
"We are reviewing the ruling and will consider pursuing an appeal," U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
Yanny said Carter's ruling leaves the Mongols on solid legal footing to combat any further litigation, and he's confident any appeal will be unsuccessful.
In his 23-page ruling, Carter found the government had failed to show the required elements for prosecution under the RICO statute.
RICO prosecutions require that a specific person or entity be charged with crimes that are committed through a separate criminal enterprise. But Carter found the federal government's assertion the Mongols Nation is an entity that conducts criminal activity through a separate enterprise, the Mongols gang, amounted to "a distinction without a difference."

"There is simply no substance to the Mongols Gang enterprise independent of Mongol Nation, an association of its leadership and official membership," Carter wrote.
Having determined the indictment was insufficient, Carter declined to rule on the other principal arguments made by the Mongols.
The Mongols had also argued their logo was constitutionally protected as a collective membership mark, and that the organization, rather than individual people, is not capable of committing "intent crimes," such ass murder or assault, Yanny said.

"I'm very happy about the result," Yanny said.
But the judge declined to order sanctions against the prosecution, which Mongols attorney's sought due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
"While the indictment is legally deficient for the reasons explained above, this does not demonstrate that the action is vexatious, meaning that the Government acted with 'ill intent,'" Carter wrote.
The previous judge assigned to the case, Judge Otis Wright II, recused himself from the case in May, after Mongols attorneys filed a motion seeking a new judge, alleging Wright had demonstrated bias against the Mongols.
The indictment, filed in February of 2013, came on the heels of another federal case in which 79 Mongols members pleaded guilty to a variety of criminal charges following a six-state operation targeting the Mongols known as "Operation Black Rain." 

BABE OF THE DAY

CA - United States of America versus Mongols Nation.

OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
After waiting for 42 days, Federal District Judge David O. Carter finally issued a dense dismissal yesterday of the Government’s most recent attempt to seize the Mongols Motorcycle Club’s name and patch – a case titled United States of America versus Mongols Nation.
Because of its numerous civil citations, the decision may actually make criminal case law. It is written very carefully in order to avoid reversal by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and there is some good news and bad news in it for the Mongols. The decision is all sentences like: “Clear legal rules are difficult to discern from the morass of legal precedent addressing the distinctness requirement in the context of entity defendants.” Carter saw the key legal question in the case as the  “distinctness” between a “person” and “an ‘enterprise’ that is not simply the same ‘person’ referred to by a different name.”
That boundary looks like a razor’s edge and unfortunately Carter is not exactly Oliver Wendell Holmes. Plainly speaking, the good news is that the government’s indictment is dismissed and will probably stay dismissed. The bad news is that it looks like the Mongols are going to have to pay their own legal fees.

Where Did This Come From

The question of whether the Mongols club was guilty as an entity of racketeering had originally been scheduled for trial last June 2 but at the last moment, five days before the trial was to start,  the presiding judge, Otis D. Wright, the man who told the government to bring this nuisance prosecution, wet himself, threw his hands in the air and ran from his courtroom literally conceding “You win.” The case was then assigned to John A. Kronstadt who tossed it to Carter within a week.
Mongols attorney Joe Yanny and Elliot H. Min had argued that the government’s case was a “pointless prosecution.” The indictment basically charged a turn of phrase with racketeering and in his decision Carter summarized Yanny and Min’s objections to it like this: “Defendant contends that the Indictment fails for three reasons. First, it raises a flurry of arguments that the forfeiture sought is invalid under trademark law and the Constitution and that the Indictment therefore fails. Second, it also asserts that the Indictment fails to state an offense because it does not allege a ‘person’ distinct from the ‘enterprise’ under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c). Finally, Defendant argues that it is legally incapable of committing the racketeering acts set forth in the Indictment, and therefore no criminal liability can attach.”
The prosecution of the club as a whole, as anyone who has ever been arrested or sued knows, was actually a punishment in and of itself. Since October 21, 2013 when the indictment against the club was unsealed, numerous Mongols including club president David Santillan have had to make multiple appearances in court and, most significantly the club had to hire Yanny and Min and their supporting staff. The whole point of the case was to bankrupt the Mongols with legal fees. The idea of seizing the Mongols trademarks was always a cynical charade. Nobody was ever going to jail. So late in the case, Yanny filed a motion to either sanction the government or the two prosecutors who brought it – a couple of mendacious and sanctimonious bureaucrats named Christopher Brunwin and Stephen R. Welk – and force either the government or its lawyers personally to pay the cost of the legal defense.
Carter sniffed at that like this: “As a result of the Government’s allegedly spurious position, Defendant seeks sanctions against the Government for ‘selective prosecution, and bringing a frivolous, malicious, and vexatious indictment against Mongol Nation.’”

Constitution

The big issue in this case was the constitutionality of seizing the Mongols insignia – or the insignia of any motorcycle club. Carter wrote: “Defendant asserts that the forfeiture sought is impermissible under trademark law and is unconstitutional under the First, Fifth, and Eighth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Therefore, it argues, the Indictment should be dismissed or, in the alternative, the forfeiture allegation should be stricken.”
Citing a thicket of precedents Carter endorsed the government’s argument that forfeiture, the whole point of the case, wasn’t really the whole point of the case but merely a possibility. Welk has been arguing for six years that any ruling on the forfeitability of the Mongols trademarks before compelling the club to defend itself in a four-month-long trial would be “premature adjudication” and Carter seems to admire the pettifoggery in that.

Distinctness

Carter did rule, however, that the government cannot indict a club as an “enterprise” for racketeering without also indicting a group who can be actually punished. That is the good news for the Mongols and other motorcycle clubs. The indictment makes “no meaningful distinction between the association Mongol Nation and the enterprise of the Mongols Gang,” Carter wrote. So Mongols Nation is off the hook.
Given the extent of the war on motorcycle clubs, it seems likely that government prosecutors are poring over this dark forest of words already. But Yanny thinks the decision is “pretty bullet proof. They can’t just indict a club as a racketeering enterprise because some club members are racketeers.”
That would seem to end it, but who knows what hope jaded prosecutors might take from: “Having decided the Indictment fails for lack of distinctness, the Court does not reach Defendant’s arguments concerning whether it is proper to premise liability on predicate acts an unincorporated association it is not legally capable of committing itself, including murder and attempted murder. Indictment ¶¶ 39, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47. The Court will note that the Government could identify no other case where an unincorporated association, or other entity defendant, was held liable for predicate acts of violent crime. However, as the Indictment is otherwise flawed, the Court need not reach this issue to which the parties devoted only cursory attention in the briefing.”

Sanctions

Carter was more direct and to the point on the issue of whether the government will have to pay for this long ordeal by jurisprudence.
“There is insufficient evidence on the record to establish that there has been improper conduct by the Government Attorneys,” Carter wrote. “Defendant has not met its burden in establishing that the Government’s position was vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith. The only concrete basis for this request is that this case is similar to prior actions and that the Government engaged in “judge shopping.”

Brunwin and Welk are Carter’s boys. They all work for the same company. And yesterday’s decision may not be the end of the case. The government will have ten days to appeal and the decision about whether to do so or not will be made by either the United States Attorney for the Central District of California or somebody a few pay grades above him.

CA - Federal Case Dropped Against Mongols MC

OFF THE WIRE

Quote:

Constitution The big issue in this case was the constitutionality of seizing the Mongols insignia – or the insignia of any motorcycle club. Carter wrote: “Defendant asserts that the forfeiture sought is impermissible under trademark law and is unconstitutional under the First, Fifth, and Eighth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Therefore, it argues, the Indictment should be dismissed or, in the alternative, the forfeiture allegation should be stricken.” Citing a thicket of precedents Carter endorsed the government’s argument that forfeiture, the whole point of the case, wasn’t really the whole point of the case but merely a possibility. Welk has been arguing for six years that any ruling on the forfeitability of the Mongols trademarks before compelling the club to defend itself in a four-month-long trial would be “premature adjudication” and Carter seems to admire the pettifoggery in that. Distinctness Carter did rule, however, that the government cannot indict a club as an “enterprise” for racketeering without also indicting a group who can be actually punished. That is the good news for the Mongols and other motorcycle clubs. The indictment makes “no meaningful distinction between the association Mongol Nation and the enterprise of the Mongols Gang,” Carter wrote. So Mongols Nation is off the hook. Given the extent of the war on motorcycle clubs, it seems likely that government prosecutors are poring over this dark forest of words already. But Yanny thinks the decision is “pretty bullet proof. They can’t just indict a club as a racketeering enterprise because some club members are racketeers.” That would seem to end it, but who knows what hope jaded prosecutors might take from: “Having decided the Indictment fails for lack of distinctness, the Court does not reach Defendant’s arguments concerning whether it is proper to premise liability on predicate acts an unincorporated association it is not legally capable of committing itself, including murder and attempted murder. Indictment ¶¶ 39, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47. The Court will note that the Government could identify no other case where an unincorporated association, or other entity defendant, was held liable for predicate acts of violent crime. However, as the Indictment is otherwise flawed, the Court need not reach this issue to which the parties devoted only cursory attention in the briefing.”

Have You Seen This Blue Strip On a Curb? Here’s The INCREDIBLE Reason Behind It

OFF THE WIRE
Top Right News
by Bill Callen | Top Right News

Little blue strips are popping up all across the nation on curbs along many streets, but this is no coincidence. You see, there’s actually a purpose behind these lines. The reason is just so incredible, you may find one appearing right in front of your own home.

As Robert Rich of WMN reported, it’s called “The Safe Harbor Initiative,” and it’s been kicked off by a man named Anthony Welichko out of San Antonio, Texas. So, what exactly are these little blue lines? Well, as Welichko explains in his Facebook post:

    To all law enforcement who see this line, know that the residents of this home appreciate your service and dedication to keeping the peace. Know that when you enter the neighborhood and see these lines that you are not alone or without “back-up.”

That’s right, these little blue strips along the curb are a show of solidarity that our citizens have with police. Specifically meaning that the people who live in the home directly in front of the mark on the curb have the officers’ backs, it’s a great way to show your support.

However, the blue lines aren’t meant for just police, as its purpose is two-fold.

“We do not need the media to make our voices of support for our police and emergency services heard ( though it would be nice),” Welichko went on to say. “Lastly, if you are in my neighborhood and mean to harm a member of law enforcement, know that decision may be hazardous to your health as someone has that officers back!”

It’s honestly quite a shame that our nation has devolved to the point where many have turned their backs on those who voluntarily risk their lives to serve and protect our communities. However, it’s becoming quite clear that many people here in America couldn’t feel any more differently and have began to show signs of support to let police know that people still do care and respect them.

For that reason, I may just be headed out to the curb this afternoon with some tape and can of blue spray paint. What do you think – do you see yourself taking place in The Safe Harbor Initiative?