United States Tenth Circuit

In an action brought by abortion rights supporters claiming that Oklahoma's statutory scheme for specialty motor vehicle license plates is unconstitutional, dismissal of the action is affirmed in part but reversed and remanded in part where: 1) Oklahoma's specialty license plate charges are "taxes under State law" for the purposes of the Tax Injunction Act (TIA), and thus dismissal of certain claims was proper; however, 2) the Eleventh Amendment did not preclude consideration of claims alleging that the state uses proceeds from its specialty license plate program to fund groups involved in adoption-related activities, but impermissibly refuses to fund plaintiffs' own adoption-related efforts due to its abortion advocacy.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/07/2007
• Published 03/07/2007

Judges

• GORSUCH, Circuit Judge., Before TYMKOVICH, EBEL, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Suzanne M. Grosso (Molly S. Boast with her on the briefs), Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, New York, New York;  Priscilla J. Smith and Sanford M. Cohen, Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, New York;  Martha M. Hardwick, Hardwick Law Office, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Ernest H. Short, General Counsel (Douglas B. Allen and Cara S. Nicklas, Assistants General Counsel, with him on the brief), Oklahoma Tax Commission, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Defendants-Appellees Thomas E. Kemp, Jerry Johnson, and Connie Irby., Richard W. Freeman, Jr., Assistant General Counsel, Department of Human Services, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,(Kevin L. McClure, Assistant Attorney General, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with him on the briefs), for Defendants-Appellees Howard H. Hendrick, Scott Meacham, Brad Henry, and W.A. “Drew” Edmondson.