PROVIDENCE – A U.S. District Court judge has signed a consent judgement that has declared a state statute that gave the administrator of the R.I. Division of Motor Vehicles the authority to deny vanity license plates based on whether the plates “might carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency” unconstitutional, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. announced Friday.
The ACLU had filed the lawsuit in March 2020 on behalf of Sean Carroll, who was ordered by the DMV to return his vanity license plate “FKGAS” or have his car registration canceled. Carroll drives an electric vehicle.
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The ACLU had argued that the statute was overbroad and void for vagueness and was granted a temporary injunction against the DMV in October of 2020.
Judge Mary McElroy declared the statutory language at issue “unconstitutional on its face” and barred the state from relying on that provision in the future as it relates to vanity plates. The judgement also allowed Carroll to keep his plate and awarded $20,000 in attorney fees.
The court noted that the decision did not impact the validity or enforceability of any other provisions of R.I. General Laws § 31-3-17.1, which pertains to the registration of vehicles, under which the disputed statute was included.
The case was filed by ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys Thomas W. Lyons and Rhiannon Huffman.
“We’re very happy we were able to obtain a complete victory for Mr. Carroll and for freedom of speech,” said Lyons in a statement Friday.
