Court Accepts VT Magistrate's License Plate Recommendations

The Rutland Vermont Herald reports today that federal district court judge J. Garvan Murtha has accepted the Magistrate's Report in Byrne v. Terrill, 2005 WL 2043011 (D.Vt., Aug. 1, 2005). (See prior posting.) Plaintiff is attempting to force the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a "vanity" license plate with the number JN36TN, a reference to a Biblical verse. The decision refuses to preliminarily enjoin the DMV from enforcing its regulation against references to religion on license plates. However, it permits plaintiff to attempt to prove that the DMV is violating the equal protection clause or engaging in prohibited viewpoint discrimination by permitting some religious references on license plates and denying others.