'0INK' Vanity Plate Fight Could Go To Legislature

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A battle over vanity plates that started in a county courtroom could wind up in the Statehouse.

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles says it will on Monday ask the state Supreme Court to overrule a local judge who found parts of the BMV's vanity plate program — and the law that allows it — unconstitutional.

The issue first arose when the BMV revoked a police officer's plate reading "0INK."

BMV Commissioner Donald M. Snemis tells The Associated Press that if the court strikes down the vanity plate statute, the debate would wind up in the Legislature. At that point, lawmakers might have to decide if the whole program is worth the trouble.

American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk says vanity plates are "extremely popular" nationwide.