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354 Mass. 769

Commonwealth v. Howie

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · decided 1968-06-05

Relies on Coffee-Rich, Inc. v. Commissioner of Public Health · Hall-Omar Baking Co. v. Commissioner of Labor & Industries · Commonwealth v. Boston & Maine Transportation Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1968-06-05

How this case has been cited

Cited by 19 later decisions — most recently June 1994

1 federal appellate · 1 district · 17 state decisions — followed in 11 states

1501968197019801990decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1The defendant appeals from a finding of guilty of violating G. L. c. 90, § 7, for not wearing protective headgear while operating a motorcycle. Upon appeal from a finding in the District Court the case was heard by a judge sitting without jury in the Third District Court of Eastern Middlesex under St. 1964, c. 628. The defendant filed a written motion to dismiss which was denied, and he was again found guilty. The defendant excepts to the denial of his motion to dismiss. There was no error. General Laws c. 90, § 7, requires every person operating or riding a motorcycle to wear protective headgear conforming with certain minimum standards. It lies within the power of the Legislature to adopt reasonable measures for the promotion of safety upon public ways in the interests of motorcyclists and others who may use them. Commonwealth v. Boston & Maine Transp. Co. 282 Mass. 345, 348. The act of the Legislature bears a real and substantial relation to the public health and general welfare and is thus a valid exercise of the police power. Coffee-Rich, Inc. v. Commissioner of Pub. Health, 348 Mass. 414, 422. As contended by the Commonwealth, “Qf]he legislation is reasonable, applies to all equally, and is directly related to highway safety.” See Hall-Omar Baking Co. v. Commissioner of Labor & Indus. 344 Mass. 695, 700. A recent Michigan decision to the contrary is not persuasive. On this general subject we find ourselves in agreement with Colvin v. Lombardi, 241 Atl. 2d 625 (R. I.).

¶2Exceptions overruled.

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