Atheist continues lawsuit for her right to vanity plate ‘8THEIST’
A judge has ruled that a South Jersey woman can move forward with her lawsuit against the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission over their initial rejection of her vanity plate "8THEIST."
Atheist Shannon Morgan's suit challenges the agency's has the right to determine what is "offensive to good taste and decency." NJ.com reports Morgan's choice of "8THEIST" was rejected on the MVC website when she applied for the plate, but "BAPTIST" was accepted.
The MVC's chief administrator, Raymond Martinez, blamed a computer glitch for the rejection and offered to approve the plate if she applied via mail. Morgan was granted the plate which, according to Martinez, makes the lawsuit, first filed in 2014, a moot point.
Attorney Jon Green, Morgan's attorney says his client is happy with the ruling. "We're saying its censorship of viewpoint and Judge Wolfson basically said you can't do that."
Morgan is continuing the suit because, she says, others would have to go through the same process if she didn't. According to her suit, the MVC has not "amended or repealed its regulation that grants Commission officials the discretion to prohibit 'offensive license plate expressions."
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