In upholding the First Amendment, a federal court ruled that California could not ban vanity license plate messages that were “offensive to good taste and decency.” U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar agreed with five plaintiffs and cited the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a victory by the band The Slants over the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. (Reason, November 25, 2020, By Elizabeth Nolan Brown)
Tigar found the ban enables unconstitutional restrictions on private speech and discriminates on the basis of viewpoint. He also wrote that the regulation does not provide an “objective, workable standard” for enforcement. (Courthouse News Service, November 24, 2020, by Maria Dinzeo)