A federal judge has ruled a South Carolina law ordering the creation of Christian-themed specialty license plates is unconstitutional. The plates were to include the phrase "I Believe" with a cross and stained-glass windows in the background, an improper use of religious imagery by the state, Judge Cameron Currie argued (pdf). Writing that the case "presents a textbook example of the need for and continued vitality of the Establishment Clause", Currie did not exactly lead me to believe this was a close decision.
The “I Believe” Act had its genesis in Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer’s desire to do here what had been unsuccessful in the state of Florida–to gain legislative approval of a specialty plate promoting the majority religion: Christianity. Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same. The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation.
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It takes little imagination or legal expertise to put the principles addressed above together and conclude that a state-sponsored message on a legislatively-created license plate which references only one religion constitutes a violation of the Establishment Clause. Thus, focusing on the “I Believe” Act itself, the court concludes that it was clearly established that this Act was unconstitutional…
The Baptist Joint Committee praised the ruling. An Associated Baptist Press story on the decision is here.
