In the Matter of the Denial of the Application for the Custom Plates "Wine" "Invino" "Vino" of Michael Paul Higgins v. Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Branch (DMV), 335 Or. 481

Summary

The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Michael Paul Higgins's applications for customized vehicle registration plates displaying “WINE,” “INVINO,” and “VINO.” The court held that displaying a state-created registration plate for vehicle-identification purposes is not the vehicle owner's constitutionally protected speech under Article I, section 8, of the Oregon Constitution. It also concluded that the DMV's restriction on alcohol-related custom plate messages was permissible under the First Amendment as applied to a nonpublic forum.

Holdings

1. The rule did not violate Article I, section 8, because the compelled display of a government-created vehicle-identification message on a registration plate is not the vehicle owner's constitutionally protected speech, writing, or printing.
2. The DMV rule was a permissible restriction under the First Amendment because customized registration plates constitute a nonpublic forum and the restriction was reasonable in light of the forum's purposes and viewpoint neutral.

Questions Presented

1. Whether DMV's administrative rule prohibiting customized registration-plate configurations that refer to alcoholic beverages violated Article I, section 8, of the Oregon Constitution.
2. Whether DMV's restriction on customized registration-plate messages violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Disposition

affirmed