Federal court rules that Ky. must pay attorney fees in 'IM GOD' license plate suit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky will have to pay attorney fees to a man who sued over being denied a personalized license plate that read "IM GOD."

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet must pay the fees for Ben Hart. The retired postal worker won a federal lawsuit in November, after being denied the vanity plate in 2016. State officials said it wasn't in good taste, but Hart maintained the rejection violated his freedom of speech, according to WLEX.

Hart says he had the custom plate in Ohio for more than a dozen years and only had a problem when he moved to northern Kentucky. A federal court ruled that he can, despite state government objections, use a personalized licence plate that reads, "IM GOD."

In his November ruling, U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove wrote that while the commonwealth can limit what people can put on their vanity plates, the First Amendment also imposes limits on the state prohibition power. "And in this case," the judge wrote, "… the Commonwealth went too far."

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plate program allows drivers to pay a fee and request "a licence plate with personal letters or numbers significant to the applicant." The cabinet denied Hart's request for the "IM GOD" plate based on its reference to religion and argued in court that vanity plates, because they are approved by the state, constitute government speech - not private speech - and therefore do not enjoy free speech protections.

The judge disagreed, writing that courts have ruled that such plates convey a "personalized message with intrinsic meaning … specific to the owner." Even the state's own statute establishing the program describes such plates as consisting of "personal letters or numbers significant to the applicant," the judge wrote.

"The same year Mr. Hart was denied a plate reading "IM GOD", the Transportation Cabinet approved the contradictory plates "NOGAS", "EATGAS", "VEGAN", and "BBQ4U" among many others," the judge wrote. "Under the Transportation Cabinet's logic, the Commonwealth is not only contradicting itself, but spewing nonsense.

"If the Court finds that vanity plates are government speech," the judge wrote, "then the Court would also be finding that Kentucky has officially endorsed the words "UDDER", "BOOGR", "JUICY", "W8LOSS" and "FATA55".

Hart was backed in his suit by the ACLU of Kentucky, of which he is a member, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.