Click on the map below to get a Google Map of the area.  We are next to “Cord Camera.”

The new Anderson Township location provides easy access from I-275 and all points east.  The second floor office sits above Elite Reporting, a court reporting firm which recently purchased and renovated the building.  Look for our sign the next time you are on Beechmont Avenue.

This new location gives us more space in a more convenient location.  Our satellite location will remain in the Waterstone Building north of I-275.

Stop in and say HI!

Well, they don’t come right out and say that … but… let’s look at the numbers.

First, 716 deaths across the country.  Is that a lot?  Of course – ONE is a lot.  However, compared to the 1005 deaths in 1975, that figure is pretty good.  Further, there are a LOT more cars on the road today than 1975 so we’re seeing significantly fewer deaths [30% fewer] despite significantly higher “traffic density” [i.e., more cars per square inch]

Second, of those 716 deaths, some 40% occur in THREE states.  The Big Three are Florida [125], California [109] and Texas [53].   In Ohio, we had 17 deaths, or 2% of all cycling deaths nationwide.

Third, alcohol impairment was reported in more than ONE THIRD of all cycling fatalities.  By not drinking and riding, your risk of a fatal bike crash goes WAY down.

Further, most [69%] fatal crashes occur in urban, not rural areas.

So, if you get on your bike in Ohio, take some time to enjoy some of the thousands of miles of great rural cycling roads throughout Ohio and don’t have a few drinks along the way your risk of a fatal crash is approaching single digits, I suspect.

ENJOY THE ROADS

Be Careful!

Good Luck and Good Riding!

Steve Magas, The Bike Lawyer

Soapbox Cincinnati is an online E-zine that features news and stories about Cincinnati, financial stories, neighborhood stories, restaurant stories and… a weekly guest blogger.  I was asked to be the Guest Blogger during Bike Month!

You can read my online blog posts here.

I thought the first post should be somewhat historical, the second currently factual and the third futuristically optimistic… at least that was the plan… here’s the first post…

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THE DNA OF THE MODERN CYCLING ADVOCATE

Picture this – New York City on Memorial Day. In the midst of a huge “Bike Boom,” tens of thousands of New Yorkers are riding their bicycles through the city on a gorgeous summer day. Cosmopolitan magazine decides it would be a good idea to hold a car race on the streets of NYC that day… and they’re off… six cars racing each other through the streets!

Mr. Henry Wells is doing well in the race but he starts to wobble and crashes into the vehicle operated by Ms. Evelyn Thomas. Ms. Thomas suffers a fractured leg and is carted, unconscious, by ambulance to the Hospital.

Sounds like another day in paradise, eh? Well, it was… except for three significant facts…

1. This bike/car crash occurred on Memorial Day in New York City in 1896…
2. This was the FIRST recorded automobile accident in the U.S. and 
3. Evelyn’s vehicle of choice was a Columbia…. BICYCLE.

Yes, friends, by 1896 that new fangled contraption, the motorcar, was already causing a ruckus on the streets. The same streets shared by pedestrians, folks on horseback, carts, buggies, wagons, bicycles and now … cars.

To understand why today’s cycling advocates fight so HARD to protect our right to ride on the roads you have to understand where our DNA came from. Each strand of “Bike Advocacy DNA” contains bits of tens of thousands of incidents like the one in NYC in 1896.

By 1896 “Bicycle Advocacy” was already in full swing. The League of American Wheelmen [now the more politically correct League of American Bicyclists] was founded in 1880 and reached a MILLION members very quickly. The League was the driving force behind the “Good Roads Movement” – a powerful political movement that focused on electing officials who could get roads PAVED … so commerce could move freely and, oh yea, so bicyclists would have a place to ride!  

Cyclists did so well promoting their cause that the very first Vehicle Codes ever written, in Ohio and around the country, recognized the bicycle as a “vehicle” and permitted the operation of bicycles on the roadway.  That right was re-affirmed here in 2006 when the Ohio legislature unanimously passed the “Better Bicycling Bill.”

May is National Bike Month. On May 19, 2010 the Ride of Silence was again held around the world and dozens of cyclists braved the weather to converge quietly on Fountain Square for a short ceremony. The Ride of Silence honors and remembers cyclists killed & injured the previous year while promoting awareness of road cycling. 

There were 716 cycling fatalities nationally in 2008 — trending down, down, down from a high of 1005 deaths in 1975. The Ride of Silence adds strength, unity, dignity and honor to the Bike Advocate’s DNA.

We continue the fight to protect our right to ride on the public roadways – the same right Evelyn Thomas exercised from the seat of her Columbia back in 1896. The need to protect that right is stronger than ever today and we’ll keep fighting…we’re not going anywhere…

“Cycle tracks will abound in utopia…”~~ H.G. Wells, A Modern Utopia, Chapter 2, Sec 3 [1905]

The LAB is asking cyclists around the country to reach out and touch their governors and ask for support for Ray LaHood’s recently announced National Bike Policy which you can read here or check out the video here!

When you think of the many areas of your personal life, and the many areas of our national policy and “life,” in which bicycling can have an immediate positive impact, it’s hard to believe anyone would not support a statement supporting cycling.  But… these are tough time and cycling’s enemies lurk in strange, dark little [and big] corners… sooo….

You can check out the LAB’s request for you to call the governor here.  You will also see a very cool automatic letter-generator.  You just plug in your name and address and you can generate a letter – the one the LAB prepared, one complete of your own making or a hybrid model.  The interface is very easy to use and looks like this:

All you have to do is fill in the blanks and hit SEND and it will zip your letter to your governor.

So DO IT – Become an ADVOCATE for CYCLING Today!

Steve Magas

The Bike Lawyer

The rider, Bret Taylor, apparently had a handlebar-mounted camera that snapped pix along the way.  He set up a six minute slide show of the ride, with a great soundtrack, and put it out there for the world to see.  Its’ VERY cool!  Makes you wonder where those hundreds of millions of people are living!

The route he took was The TransAmerica Trail.  Adventure Cycling put the route together and sells the maps as part of its Adventure Cycling Maps collection.  You can buy all or part of the route.

The route goes from Virginia to Oregon along a well-researched path that takes you through Kentucky, over the Mississippi at Chester, Illinois,  and into Missouri, Kansas and Colorado before heading north.  You’ll crest the Continental Divide at the Hoosier Pass and head down towards Yellowstone before passing through Adventure Cycling’s headquarters in Missoula, Montana on your way to the west coast.  Make sure to stop in and have Greg Siple take your picture!

Apparently, Bret Taylor did well – he raised $25,000 for the fight against M.S.  Congratulations!  What a cool thing!!

There are “rules” of course – Use of Force rules that all law enforcement agencies are supposed to create, teach and follow.  Some cops,though, seem to use Tasers instead of other, less intrusive approaches.  It seems like we’re reading stories every day about “Tasers Gone Wild” – the use of Tasers in situations in which a 50,000 volt jolt may not be called for.

On December 28, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit released an opinion which might change some of that.

The case, Bryan v. McPherson,  arose out of a traffic stop for a seatbelt violation.  Bryan was stopped by McPherson for not wearing a seatbelt.  While standing outside of the car, Bryan was upset.  There is a dispute over whether Bryan took a step towards McPherson, who was some 20 feet away.  McPherson, without warning, pulled out his TASER and shot Bryan.  Bryan fell, hit his face and suffered facial and other injuries.

Bryan sued the officer and the city.  The trial court dismissed some of the counts and ruled that claims against the officer could proceed.  On appeal, the 9th Circuit chose this case to make some strong statements about the use of the Taser.

First, the court very correctly recognized an important point.  Tasers are “non-lethal” weapons, but they are not “non intrusive” weapons.  The use of ANY force by an officer against a citizen MUST be justified.  ["Less than deadly force ... may not be used without sufficient reason..."].

In looking at a “Taser” shot the court recognized that the shot delivers an electrical impulse that “… instantly overrides the victim’s central nervous system,paralyzing the muscles throughout the body, rendering the target limp and helpless…”  The court also recognized that “…the tasered person also experiences excruciating paint that radiates throughout the entire body…

In weighing a Taser against other non-lethal force techniques, the court found that tasers are “…a greater intrusion than other non-lethal methods of force ” the court has reviewed.  The “psychological effects, high level of pain and foreseeable risk of personal injury” support this conclusion.  The court held that unlike pepper sprays and less intrusive methods of force, “Tasers” intermediate, significant level of force that must be justified by a “strong government interest that compels the employment of such force.”

The court found that Bryan was not a threat to the officer, that he had no weapons, that he was standing 20-25 feet away from the officer, and that he was not even facing the officer when he was shot as the taser barbs hit Bryan in the side and he fell away from the officer.

The court found no justification for the use of force by the officer.  The “crime” was a minor misdemeanor – a seatbelt violation punishable by a fine.  The court found there was  no substantial governmental interest in using significant force to arrest Bryan for a minor misdemeanor.

The Court held that “…The objective facts must indicate that the suspect poses an immediate threat to the officer or a member of the public…”

On appeal, the officer came up with a new twist – the motorist was possibly mentally troubled and might be subject to detention.  Nice try, Officer McPherson, but the 9th Circuit shot that down nicely by noting that it had held in the past the use of force against suspected MENTAL patients must be less than the use of force used to subdue suspected criminals!

Another point the court noted was that there was no warning given by the officer.  He just pulled out the weapon and fired.  The court also noted that officers were required to give some thought to other, less intrusive means.  Here, Officer McPherson apparently gave no thought to the fact that other officers were on the way or that other tactics may have been effective.

The court held that the use of the Taser was excessive in light of the government interests at stake.  While Bryan’s behavior was bizarre, it was not threatening.  He was unarmed, was not fleeing and was not a felon. There was simply no need to subdue Bryan immediately.  As a result, the court concluded that Bryan’s rights under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Under the law, even if excessive force was used, the officer will be protected if the use of force was premised on a reasonable belief that the use of force was necessary.    Frequently, there must be a “case” or other incident similar to the one complained of which has already been found to be troublesome.  Here, the court found that where an officer’s conduct SO CLEARLY OFFENDS AN INDIVIDUAL’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS no prior case need be located.  The court found that “no reasonable officer confronting a situation where the need force is at its lowest —  where the target is a non-violent, stationary misdemeanant twenty feet away — would have concluded that deploying intermediate force without warning was justified.

Great case… we’ll see how that plays out in other circuits!

Steve Magas

Soooooo… after debating for a few days I took the plunge on Black Friday, with a MAC sale going on.

The Magas Firm has joined the many law firms around the country running on, living in, MAC-ville!  Yes, a 13″ MacBook Pro now holds everything.  What a great machine – it’s actually smaller than the CALENDAR I used to carry around to keep all court appearances logged in correctly.

We’ve spent the past weeks getting the MacBook up and running with all files, documents, photos and the like… and getting the user… me… up to speed on the hardware/software.  Fun stuff!

So, posts here have been off a while, but will start coming fast and furious now!  So Stay Tuned!

The Magas Firm would like to THANK all of our clients, friends, family and colleagues for their patience and cooperation during our very successful start up!  The first six months have been a BLAST and we’re looking to take off in 2010!

Today, I got the BIG BIKE out – the BMW R1150RT – for a brisk run around town.  Thankfully, all heated gear worked perfectly because I haven’t had time to do the math on the 80 mph windchill yet!

Enjoy the holiday season!

Steve Magas

You can also find some of her stuff at the Bicycle Gifts Webpage, such as prints, cards, etc.  An interesting quote from this page tells you about the artist…

“Painting pictures of bicycles satisfies what I want to say. Structurally they’re beautiful and symbolically very positive. I love how a bicycle relates to the figure and I love exploring what each is specifically to the person who rides them. Many of the bikes I paint are used daily for transportation and/or for racing, some are necessary for the owner’s career. They are worn and customized in unique ways, being at once a specific bike and a collective symbol of empowerment.”

CHECK IT OUT!