"The court has basically said, 'yes you have a right to wear a patch, these logos," said Norristown attorney Boyd Spencer, who represents the Eastern Pa. Confederation of Clubs.
The group of bikers were on their way to a beef and beer event when they were pulled over. The bikers were ticketed for not having approved helmets, the original complaint alleges, and were told to remove their colors if they wanted to leave. The whole traffic stop, which lasted more than an hour, was captured by mounted cameras in the police cruisers.
"Now you're all going to take your jackets off, because on this highway, these are the only colors," one of the state troopers told the group after nearly 50 minutes had passed, referring to State Police blue and gold.
None of the bikers removed their colors, and at a later municipal court hearing, the helmets were found to be legal and a prosecutor dismissed the charges.
The state filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit but Simandle, in his ruling said the plaintiffs "sufficiently alleged deprivations of a clearly established constitutional right." Simandle dismissed a conspiracy allegation and claims that the bikers were denied due process.
"We had a little wound here and there but definitely, this is a victory," Spencer said.
A spokesman for the state declined to comment Monday.
Contact Jason Nark at 215-854-5916 or narkj@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @JasonNark.
