PHOENIX – A federal court in Phoenix ruled today that the free speech lawsuit against the Arizona License Plate Commission can go forward.
The lawsuit, Arizona Life Coalition, Inc., et al,. v. Stacey Stanton, et al., was filed September 2, 2003, in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix Division. The Alliance Defense Fund and the Center for Arizona Policy are jointly representing the Arizona Life Coalition.
"This lawsuit would not be necessary if the commission had affirmed the coalition’s First Amendment rights instead of denying the request for a license plate," said Gary McCaleb, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. "The commission chair said ‘nothing more can be done,’ but a federal judge affirmed today that something can always be done in federal court when state officials trample constitutional rights."
The court allowed the coalition’s crucial First Amendment claims to stand, McCaleb explained. "The commission rejected the coalition license plates and certainly appears to have exercised viewpoint discrimination. The law requires the commission to treat the Arizona Life Coalition the same as it treats other organizations," McCaleb said.
Organizations that have been granted license plates by the commission are the University of Phoenix, a for-profit entity, as well as other non-profits: the Fire Fighter’s Union, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Legion of Valor, and the Wildlife Conservation Council.
ADF is a legal alliance of more than 700 attorneys defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
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