State high court hears 'OINK' plate dispute

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s highest court is considering whether a police officer was wrongly denied a vanity license plate saying ‘OINK,’ which state officials deemed offensive.

Solicitor General Thomas Fisher told the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles has the right to reject offensive messages sought on personalized license plates.

Greenfield police Officer Rodney Vawter sued the Indiana BMV after it denied his request for a license plate with a zero followed by the letters “INK.”

A Marion County judge initially ruled in favor of Vawter, prompting the BMV to suspended Indiana’s personalized license plate program.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which is representing Vawter, says the BMV has approved other questionable plates and made an arbitrary decision that violated Vawter’s free speech.