Judge doesn't halt Myrtle Beach noise, helmet rules By Lorena Anderson - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Source:  http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/695402.html

Although a Horry County circuit court judge denied an injunction to stop Myrtle Beach from enforcing its new motorcycle-helmet law and an amended noise ordinance, a local couple's lawsuit moves forward.

Horry County Circuit Court Judge Larry B. Hyman issued his ruling Tuesday, but the injunction request was only one part of the case William and Carol O'Day put forth in their lawsuit.

"I feel we got a good hearing, a fair hearing," said Richmond, Va.-based attorney Tom McGrath, who is representing the O'Days of Myrtle Beach.

They contend the city doesn't have the right to pass a helmet law or amend its noise ordinance to specify that all motorcycle mufflers be equipped with Environmental Protection Agency markings or stickers because they supersede state law and are therefore unconstitutional.

The city ordinances are two of 15 ordinances and amendments the city passed in September to curb the effects of the May motorcycle rallies.

The state's helmet law says anyone 21 or older may choose whether to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle, and the city says anyone riding within city limits must wear a helmet.

The city has said its local helmet rule is supported by a state court ruling that upheld cities' rights to pass smoking bans and make violations punishable as infractions, not crimes.

City Manager Tom Leath said Tuesday's hearing is only one step in the process and that the judge's refusal to grant an injunction has little to do with the merits of the lawsuit itself.

"We don't pretend this portends anything," Leath said. "Obviously, it's still early in the process, but we're pleased the judge denied the injunction."

McGrath said he requested the temporary stopgap when the city intended to begin enforcing all the ordinances by Dec. 21. It has since delayed implementing several of the ordinances to give Leath more time to set up the city's administrative court system. Many of the new rules - such as the helmet law and the noise and muffler standards - are administrative infractions rather than criminal offenses, and will not be disputed in municipal court.

McGrath said he thinks that delay played into the judge's decision.

"The city hasn't issued any tickets yet because it hasn't set up the administrative court," he said. "Since my clients haven't been adversely affected yet, he had to weigh the equity issues."

Leath disagreed.

To satisfy the requirements for an injunction against a city's enforcement of laws, he said, plaintiffs have to overcome the presumption of legitimacy in a government's laws and show harm that warrants stopping a city from enforcing its laws, he said.

No other hearings have been scheduled yet in this case, nor in either of the two cases filed in federal court on behalf of business owners who have stakes in the success of the May motorcycle rallies. Those two cases also request injunctions and charge the city with unconstitutional rules that supersede state law, among other issues.