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Arizona Becomes 18th State Offering “Choose Life” License Plates
By Mailee Smith | January 8, 2009
On January 7, 2009, the Arizona License Plate Commission unanimously approved the offering of “Choose Life” license plates to Arizona motorists. The decision followed years of litigation, where it was determined that the Commission had acted unconstitutionally in originally denying a petition for the “Choose Life” plates.
When the petition filed by Arizona Life Coalition was denied six years ago, the group filed suit in the federal district court for Arizona. Arizona Life Coalition had abided by all state requirements, but the Commission inappropriately denied the plate based upon its pro-life message. However, the district court sided with the Commission, and the case proceeded to the Ninth Circuit.
The Ninth Circuit, however, quickly saw through the Commission’s unconstitutional actions and reversed the district court’s decision and ruled in favor of Arizona Life Coalition. When the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Commission’s request to review the appeal, the lower court instructed the state of Arizona to issue the license plates.
AUL has been continually active in this case, Arizona Life Coalition v. Stanton, as well as in other “Choose Life” cases. In the Arizona case, AUL represented pregnancy care centers that stand to benefit from the funds derived from the “Choose Life” plates. That amicus brief is available at http://www.aul.org/xm_client/client_documents/briefs/ArizonaLifeCoalitionvStanton.pdf.
AUL has also filed amicus briefs supporting the plates in Missouri and Illinois. The case in Missouri, Roach v. Vincent, is currently pending before the Eight Circuit. The lower court has already ruled that the state acted unconstitutionally in denying the issuance of the plates. AUL’s amicus brief, filed on behalf of pregnancy care centers in Missouri, is available at http://www.aul.org/xm_client/client_documents/briefs/RoachvVincent.pdf.
The Seventh Circuit, however, has diverged from the decisions in the Ninth Circuit and the Western District of Missouri, ruling instead that the state of Illinois has not acted unconstitutionally in denying the “Choose Life” license plates to its motorists. Attorneys for Choose Life Illinois have stated that they plan to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. AUL’s amicus brief in that case, Choose Life Illinois v. White, is available at http://www.aul.org/xm_client/client_documents/briefs/ChooseLifeILvWhite.pdf.
By finally approving the plates on Wednesday, Arizona became the 18th state to offer the “Choose Life” license plates to its residents. The other states offering the plates include Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
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Topics: Choose Life Plates, Defending Life, In The News, Judiciary |
June 26th, 2009 at 11:00 am
[...] The Americans United for Life Blog reports: “. . . By finally approving the plates on Wednesday, Arizona became the 18th state to offer the “Choose Life” license plates to its residents. The other states offering the plates include Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Tennessee.” [...]