U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal Regarding 'Choose Life' License Plates

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by abortion-rights advocates to block states from producing and selling "Choose Life" specialty license plates, the Los Angeles Times reports (Savage, Los Angeles Times, 6/27). The justices refused to look at lawsuits from Louisiana and Tennessee, thereby closing the cases -- Keeler v. Stalder, New Life Resources v. American Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union v. Bredesen -- and allowing lower court rulings to stand, according to the AP/San Jose Mercury News (Holland, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 6/26).

Louisiana
In the Louisiana case, attorneys from the Center for Reproductive Rights in March 2003 filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's entire specialty license plate system. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval in July 2003 ruled that the system violates the First Amendment right to free speech because the state Legislature "chooses who gets specialty tags -- along with part of the money from their sales." A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in April 2005 reversed the decision, saying that the case is a state tax dispute that must be decided by state courts and sent the case back to Duval with instructions to dismiss it. Abortion-rights advocates in May 2005 asked the entire appeals court to reconsider the panel's decision. The 5th Circuit Court in December 2005 split 8-8 on whether to review a decision that allows Louisiana to sell the plates in the state, leaving the prior ruling intact (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/22/05).

Tennessee
In the Tennessee case, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in March voted 2-1 to uphold to uphold a state statute authorizing the production and sale of Choose Life plates, which was enacted by the state Legislature in 2003. Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) allowed it to become law without his signature. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and ACLU in November 2003 filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to prevent the state from distributing the plates, arguing that the manner in which the state approves license plates is unconstitutional and allows the state to endorse some political issues while ignoring others. U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell in September 2004 ruled that the law is unconstitutional because the government is engaging in "viewpoint discrimination." New Life Resources, a group associated with Tennessee Right to Life and a beneficiary of the money collected through the sale of the plates, appealed Campbell's ruling. The group contends the plate's message is similar to government-sponsored public service announcements urging people to quit smoking or students to stay in school (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/31).

Next Steps
The Supreme Court's refusal, which was made without comment, to consider the appeals means the plaintiffs have no more opportunities to appeal in the federal court system, according to Bill Rittenberg, an attorney representing CRR, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Rittenberg said the next step is to bring a state challenge to Louisiana's system of allowing specialty tags only for groups allowed by the state Legislature, according to the Times-Picayune. Kris Wartelle -- a spokesperson for the Louisiana attorney general's office, which has defended the law in federal court -- said that the state is prepared to do the same in a state court challenge. She added that the sale of Choose Life plates resumed in Louisiana in January after the 5th Circuit Court's Decision (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 6/27).

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