Chicago, Illinois – Americans United for Life (AUL) has filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of nine Missouri not-for-profit pregnancy resource centers in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case Kevin M. Roach, et al. v. Omar Davis, et al.
AUL argues that the decision of the Western District of Missouri, deeming Missouri Choose Life license plates to be private speech, be affirmed.
The case involves a challenge by Choose Life of Missouri, Inc., which applied for a Choose Life license plate under the state’s specialty license plate statute. The organization filed suit against the Director of the Missouri Department of Revenue and members of the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight when the plate was improperly denied because of its pro-life viewpoint. Defendants claim the plates constitute government speech, and therefore the state can prohibit the message.
However, as AUL demonstrates in its amicus brief, other similar state decisions have been challenged and courts have held that Choose Life license plates are private speech, thus deeming the denial of such plates unconstitutional.
For example, in an Arizona case similar to the situation in Missouri, Choose Life license plates were determined to be private speech because a private organization created and petitioned for the Choose Life plate, not the government.
According to AUL attorney Mailee R. Smith, lead counsel on the brief: “Because the license plate speech at issue is private and because the Defendants, vested in unbridled power, have engaged in improper viewpoint discrimination, the judgment of the district court should be affirmed.”
The money generated from Choose Life license plates in Missouri supports pro-life pregnancy resources that provide a variety of pregnancy and post-pregnancy services, such as adoption education and counseling.
The full text of the brief is available at http://www.AUL.org (PDF).
AUL has also recently filed briefs in Roe v. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, et al. and Stormans, Inc. v. Mary Selecky. For more information on these and other briefs AUL has filed, please visit http://www.AUL.org/Amicus_Briefs.
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