Maryland likely to recall Confederate license plates
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Maryland will likely recall license plates with images of the Confederate flag this fall, now that a federal judge has agreed to lift a 1997 injunction that prevented the state from taking the plates out of circulation.
U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis issued an order Thursday that allows Attorney General Brian Frosh to lift the injunction. The order goes into effect Nov. 17.
Frosh says Maryland tried to recall the specialty tags in the 1990s, but a federal judge at the time ruled license plates were protected under the First Amendment. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that license plates were a form of government speech and could be rejected by states.
Owners of the Confederate plates will be contacted by the Motor Vehicle Administration about the recall.