DELAWARE - A Federal Judge has ruled Delaware’s vanity plate program unconstitutional following a lawsuit filed by a Milton neighbor after her anti-cancer plate was recalled.
According to court documents acquired by WBOC, Kari Overington, of Milton, filed a lawsuit against the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) after they recalled her vanity license plate that read “FCANCER”.
Overington is a survivor of breast cancer and said the vanity plate was her victory statement following her battle with cancer.
The ACLU says the DMV sent Overington a letter stating the plate “does not represent the division or the state in a positive manner."
Overington filed suit in 2022 with the ACLU stepping in to represent her, arguing the plate was protected under the First Amendment.
In a ruling Tuesday, May 14th, Judge Gregory Williams rejected the DMV’s claim that lettering and numbers on vanity plates were “government speech” and could be regulated as such. The judge went on to grant an injunction against the DMV, saying Delaware’s regulations on vanity plates allow discrimination and are arbitrarily enforced.
As a result, Delaware’s vanity plate program has been ruled unconstitutional and the state’s issuance of new vanity plates is now on hold.
“The United States District Court of Delaware has ruled that various sections of Delaware Code which authorized vanity license plates and the Division of Motor Vehicles’ vanity license plate regulation are unconstitutional,” a Delaware Department of Transportation spokesperson told WBOC Thursday. “As a result, the vanity tag program operated by the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles is suspended effective immediately and no new vanity tags will be issued.”
The Department says existing vanity plates issued before the court’s decision remain eligible for renewal.