THE ASSMAN

More fun with license plates. More and more Seinfeld episodes are becoming relevant to current issues. 

Case in point- the Assman license plate episode, because now a Virginia man has sued to be able to have a plate that reads

And now after the Fourth Circuit's opinion here calling the plates private speech (not government speech) and subject to the first amendment protections, it may be headed to everyone's favourite group of nine in DC. 

In 2015 in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, Justice Breyer (still around, not writing opinions and no relation to the mid ice cream company) held that specialty plates issued by the state are government speech, not private speech, and thus subject to far less First Amendment protections. Three liberal justices were joined by Justice Thomas who wrote that he felt compelled to join his liberal colleagues at least once a decade in an opinion. The plates in question in Walker were Texas specialized plates and included such slogans as Choose Life, God Bless Texas, Fight Terrorism, Down With NY Jewish Delis, and I'd Rather Be Golfing.  (NB- one of these is a fake Rumpole parody). 

In dissent, Justice Alito disinvited Thomas to the weekly conservative pizza party the court has and wrote "If a car with a plate "I'd rather be golfing" passed by at 8:30 am would you think that it is official Texas state policy to golf rather than work?" Point to Alito, and more pizza for the rest of the conservative Justices and clerks that week we guess. 

Virginia appears ready to take this plate contretemps all the way to the DC 9.