The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review North Carolina's decision to discontinue issuing specialty license plates featuring the Confederate flag. This effectively upholds the state's 2021 move to cease issuing and renewing these plates, which were offered through the North Carolina chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The Supreme Court's decision, delivered without comment, aligns with a 2015 ruling involving a similar case from Texas. In that instance, the Court determined that license plates are government property, giving states greater control over their content.

The Supreme Court building. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The Sons of Confederate Veterans challenged North Carolina's decision, arguing that it infringed upon their First Amendment rights and violated state laws governing specialty plates. A lower court initially dismissed the case, a decision later affirmed by a federal appeals court. The group's argument centered on the idea that the state's refusal to issue the plates constituted viewpoint discrimination.

North Carolina offers a variety of standard and specialty license plates, allowing civic organizations, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans, to create their own designs under certain conditions. However, in 2021, the state's Department of Transportation informed the group that it would no longer issue plates with the Confederate flag due to their potentially offensive nature. The state expressed its willingness to consider alternative designs that omitted the controversial emblem.

This legal battle echoes the 2015 Texas case, where the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the state's right to regulate license plate content. This precedent likely played a significant role in the Court's decision not to hear the North Carolina case.