Judge refuses to strip Mongolian biker club of its trademark

March 1, 2019, 01:58 GMT

By Phil Helsel and Andrew Blankstein

A California federal judge refused to approve the jury's decision to remove his brand's logo from the Mongolian motorcycle club.

US Judge David O. Carter, who oversaw the racketeering lawsuit held last year when the Mongol nation was found guilty, raised in his ruling on Thursday the constitutional protection against attacks on freedom of expression. expression and excessive fines.

"The first and eighth amendments permanently ban the government's request to renounce the rights associated with collective symbols," writes Carter in the decision.

Prosecutors said they were disappointed with the decision and are considering appealing.

Attorney Joe Yanny, who represents the Mongols, said the decision would protect members of all groups. "You do not have the right to steal the identity of an organization," he said. "I think the Mongols will succeed the call, if it goes that far."

Yanny also said that the lawsuits against the club "constituted an attempt of collective guilt" and that the Mongols had already "cleansed his own act" and expelled members allegedly involved in the illegal acts.

Federal prosecutors have been trying for over 10 years to obtain the Mongolian logo, which is the hallmark, which they say is the core of the identity of what they called a biker gang.

In December, a jury declared the Mongol nation guilty of racketeering. In January, the jury decided to strip the Mongols of its logo, in a verdict called the first of its kind.

Carter wrote to the jury that the government "did not prove the required link between the collective marks of belonging" and the racket offense, but that the collective marks of belonging were confused with regard to the only racket conspiracy.

"The forfeiture of the rights associated with a symbol used continuously by an organization since 1969 is unjustified and extremely disproportionate to this offense," wrote the judge. "Proceeding differently creates a dangerous precedent that allows the government to target the associative symbols of organizations that it chooses to pursue for RICO conspiracy."

Carter discussed RICO's earlier actions by the government against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters over the influence of organized crime and said that Teamsters still own the brand and that the symbol is used by more than one. One million members today.

The jury issued a verdict that the Mongol Nation should be stripped of its logo after found guilty of racketeering and conspiracy. Prosecutors had argued that it was an organized criminal enterprise involved in a murder, attempted murder and illegal distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine. The decision taken in January to strip the Mongols of its trademark required the final approval of a judge.

"As we explained in our briefs, we believe that the court was bound by the federal law and precedent to make the confiscation order requested by the government," said in a statement the office of the US District Attorney of California Central District based in Los Angeles.

"While upholding the jury's guilty verdicts on the charges of racketeering, the court's decision overturns the jury's finding that these marks are an essential part of the pattern of murders, assaults and drug trafficking that has been going on for decades, "said the US Attorney's Office.

Carter wrote in the ruling that the right of the Mongolian members to express their identity through the symbol is a speech protected by the First Amendment.

He quoted from earlier comments by another judge on the Mongolian symbol, and he wrote: "Although the symbol may sometimes serve as a spokesman for illegal or violent behavior, this is not enough to deprive protection of his protection the First Amendment. "

So-U.S. Lawyer Thomas O. Brien for the first time announced the unusual legal offer to seize the brand's logo after 79 Mongolian members were indicted in 2008.

Prosecutors said in court documents that the Mongols were a national organization. About 400 of its 500 to 600 members would be in southern California, and some are current or former members of street gangs in Los Angeles County.

Defense lawyers said the biker group was simply an informal configuration of Southwestern runners, not an organized criminal enterprise.

The judge also rejected an application for acquittal and re-trial from the Mongolian nation and provisionally accepted the applications for confiscation of weapons, ammunition, bulletproof vests and other property seized by the federal authorities.

The Mongolian organization still faces two racketeering convictions, and the government said it could claim a fine of up to $ 250,000, a spokesman for the US prosecutor's office said. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 24, according to Thursday's decision.

Yanny, the Mongolian attorney, said that the group did not market the logo and that the people who used it had to be members of the club.

"They are hard-working members of society," Yanny said. "You have everything from scavengers to addiction counselors in this club."