Global Courant
The Supreme Court said Monday it will not review North Carolina’s decision to stop issuing special license plates with the Confederate flag.
As is typical, the court declined to comment when it declined to hear the case, which challenged the state’s decision. The dispute was one of many that the court said Monday it would not hear. It was similar to a Texas case the court heard in 2015, when it ruled that the license plates are state property.
The current dispute stems from North Carolina’s 2021 decision to stop issuing special license plates bearing the insignia of the North Carolina chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The chapter sued, claiming that the state’s decision violated state and federal law. A lower court dismissed the case and a federal appeals court agreed with that decision.
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The Supreme Court is seen on April 21, 2023 in Washington. On Monday, the Supreme Court said it will not consider a case challenging North Carolina’s decision to stop issuing Confederate license plates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File))
North Carolina offers three standard license plates and more than 200 specialty license plates. Civic clubs, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans, can create special plates by meeting specific requirements.
However, in 2021, the State Department of Transportation sent the group a letter saying it would “no longer issue or renew special license plates featuring the Confederate battle flag or any variation of that flag” because the plates “have the potential to offend those who view she.”
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The state said it would consider alternate artwork for the plates’ design if it did not include the Confederate flag.
The organization unsuccessfully argued that the state’s decision violated the right to free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution and the state law governing special license plates.
In 2015, the Texas chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans claimed that Texas was wrong not to issue a special license plate with the group’s insignia. But the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that Texas could restrict the content of license plates because they are state property.
