Lewis v. Wilson

Mary Lewis (plaintiff) applied for and was denied a license plate reading “ARYAN-1.” The then-applicable statute permitted the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) (defendant) to deny obscene or profane plates. Lewis sued DOR, prevailed, and received the requested plate. The statute was amended to prohibit plates that were obscene, profane, inflammatory, or contrary to public policy. DOR refused to reissue Lewis’s plate. Lewis appealed to the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission (commission). DOR maintained that the plate was contrary to public policy because “Aryan” implied racial superiority. The commission affirmed. Lewis sued again, alleging that the statute violated the First Amendment. DOR argued that the plate was contrary to public policy because it could incite road rage and jeopardize traffic safety. Ruling on summary-judgment cross-motions, the district court held that the language allowing plates to be rejected as “contrary to public policy” was unconstitutional but did not require DOR to reissue Lewis’s plate. Lewis appealed. DOR argued that Lewis’s plate was a state-owned nonpublic forum, giving the state authority to control the plate’s message; the state could reject the plate to prevent road rage, an undesirable secondary effect; and even if the language “contrary to public policy” was unconstitutional, Lewis’s plate could be denied as “inflammatory.”