Court Says Jury Can't Strip Mongols Biker Club Of Its Trademarked Logo
The Los Angeles-based Mongols motorcycle club will not be stripped of its trademarked logo any time soon, after a federal judge essentially overruled a jury's decision to deprive the group of its collective symbol.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Santa Ana said Thursday that the jury ruling violated club members' 1st Amendment rights to free association and expression and their 8th Amendment protection against excessive penalties.
"It is beyond question that the Government has a legitimate interest in attacking the economic roots of a criminal organization like the Mongol Nation," Carter wrote in his 51-page ruling. But he said forcing the club to forfeit its rights associated with the symbol the group has used since 1969 "is unjustified and grossly disproportionate."
In January, a jury, in a first-of-its kind verdict, agreed with federal prosecutors to strip the Mongols of the logo – an image of a goateed Genghis Khan-like figure wearing sunglasses and a ponytail riding a chopper, below the club name. Prosecutors argued that the Mongols are a criminal gang and their logo is central to their outlaw identity which "they wear like armor."
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/28/699199078/court-says-jury-can-t-strip-mongols-biker-club-of-its-trademarked-logo
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