Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans
Issues
Do the messages and symbols on state-issued specialty license plates qualify as government speech and has Texas engaged in viewpoint discrimination by rejecting the license-plate design proposed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans?
The Supreme Court will determine whether states may limit the messages and symbols on state-issued specialty license plates and whether Texas committed viewpoint discrimination in rejecting the Sons of Confederate Veterans license plate design that included a logo of the confederate battle flag. Walker argues that the messages and symbols on state-issued license plates constitute government speech—which allows the government to restrict the speech and evade the requirement of viewpoint neutrality—and that Texas did not engage in viewpoint discrimination in refusing the confederate design because it did not issue any plates disparaging the confederacy. SCV counters that the messages and symbols are private speech protected under the First Amendment right to free speech, and that Texas committed viewpoint discrimination by rejecting the confederate license plate design. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case implicates states’ ability to favor certain viewpoints on state-issued license plates.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
- Do the messages and symbols on state-issued specialty license plates qualify as government speech immune from any requirement of viewpoint neutrality?
- Has Texas engaged in “viewpoint discrimination” by rejecting the license-plate design proposed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, when Texas has not issued any license plate that portrays the confederacy or the confederate battle flag in a negative or critical light?
Texas provides drivers with the opportunity to purchase and utilize specialty license plates. See Tex. Div., Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. v. Vandergriff, 759 F.3d 388, 390 (5th Cir. 2014).
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Robert Barnes: Supreme Court to hear Confederate-flag license plate case from Texas, Washington Post (Dec. 5, 2014).
- Adam Liptak: Supreme Court to Hear Cases on License Plates and Mentally Disabled Death Row Inmates, N.Y. Times (Dec. 5, 2014).