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Will Free Speech Get A License To Drive In Florida?: A Proposal For Distinguishing Free Speech From Government Speech In Florida Specialty Plate Cases, Christopher Robert Dillingham Ii

Florida A & M University Law Review

Specialty license plates for automobiles, which publish individual and special interest Free Speech, present a quagmire for the courts when analyzed through the lens of the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause. While citizens and groups can obtain personalized license plates that publish both symbolic and written speech, state governments often exercise strict editorial control over their license plates. This regulatory scenario raises the dual questions of who is speaking - the government or the private party - and how much constitutional power the government has to engage in viewpoint restriction in regulating that speech in this traditional government forum. The …