Choose alternative to specialty license plate, says court
CNN.com
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Article by the Associated Press Judge: Exclusion of abortion-rights advocates violated First Amendment
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Veterans, conservationists and colleges say they are on the losing end of a decision by a federal judge who blocked Louisiana's specialty license plate system because it excluded abortion-rights advocates from getting a plate.U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval ruled Tuesday that Louisiana's system for specialty plates violates the First Amendment because it allows the anti-abortion "Choose Life" plates but does not offer one for the opposing view. "If the state built a convention hall for speech and then only allowed people to speak with whom they agreed with their message, the state's actions would be in contravention of the First Amendment," Duval wrote. "There is no significant difference in the case before the court." The state had argued unsuccessfully that the law for issuing specialty plates was a protected state right and not covered by free-speech protections. Louisiana has nearly 150 varieties of specialty plates that sell for $25 to raise money for groups and causes including universities, wildlife conservation and the Girl Scouts. Duval blocked the sale of "Choose Life" plates in 2000, saying the law was "very likely an unconstitutional restraint of free speech," but the tags -- showing a cartoon of a pelican carrying a baby -- went on sale last fall after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his ruling. The plaintiffs then challenged the entire system of issuing specialty plates. Motorists who already have specialty tags will be able to keep them, and the order does not block personalized plates allowing drivers to pick their own numbers or words. He also did not object to special plates for handicapped motorists. Attorney General Richard Ieyoub said the state will appeal. "It seems like a weird decision to take away the free speech rights of everybody else who has a specialty plate," said Steven Johnston, spokesman for Gov. Mike Foster. William Rittenberg, an attorney for the plaintiffs, noted the ruling does not ban specialty plates, but merely the way the state now authorizes them. He said the state could pass a law similar to other states which allow specialty plates to be issued if a certain number of people request them.
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