Judge Dan Aaron Polster, in the Northern District of Ohio, issued an order on Friday stating the Bureau of Motor Vehicles can no longer reject plates simply because they “can be interpreted as” obscene, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate, our news partners at WBNS reported.
News Center 7 previously reported that a federal lawsuit alleged the BMV was violating the First Amendment rights of three plaintiffs who challenged the state’s policies on vanity plates.
William Saki is one of the three plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Saki previously sued the BMV after the agency rejected his request for a plate reading “GAY.”
A judge later ordered the state to approve that plate as part of a consent order that required the BMV to follow specific screening guidelines for vanity plates.
Saki and two other drivers filed the latest lawsuit after he applied for another personalized plate and was again turned down, arguing the state was still violating their First Amendment rights.
The ruling, however, did not immediately grant the three drivers who filed the lawsuit the specific plates they had requested.
The attorney for the plaintiffs has filed an appeal with the Sixth Circuit Court to pursue further action.
The BMV is ordered to re-review approximately 3,400 previously banned vanity plates under the new guidelines.
