WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging North Carolina’s decision two years ago to stop issuing specialty license plates bearing the Confederate flag, the latest lawsuit to question whether the messages on license plates belong to the government or the car’s owner.
The North Carolina chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans sued over the decision, claiming in part that the decision curbed the speech of private individuals. A lower court ruled that the license plates represent government speech, since the state controls the messages on the plates.
The Supreme Court declined to review the decision Monday without explanation.
The case was similar to one from Texas decided in 2015. In that suit, a 5-4 majority held that specialty license plates promoting everything from “Choose Life” to “Conserve Water” could prohibit images like the Confederate flag because license plates are government speech. The decision drew a sharp dissent from Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and two others who have since left the court.
North Carolina offers three standard license plates and more than 200 specialty plates. Civic clubs including the Sons of Confederate Veterans can create specialty plates by meeting specific requirements.
In 2021, however, the state Department of Transportation sent the group a letter saying it would “no longer issue or renew specialty license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag or any variation of that flag” because the plates “have the potential to offend those who view them.”
The state said it would consider alternate artwork for the plates’ design if it does not contain the Confederate flag.
