Florida has a new law that prohibits auto license plate covers from covering part of the plate and it is causing confusion.
How the legislature determined this to be an issue worthy of a new law baffles me.
I see no likelihood of public health and welfare being improved.
Proponents claimed it was needed to stop people who buy devices that “flip” down and cover the license plate. People who want to avoid tolls or plate readers use them.
But why not just prohibit those? Or prohibit tag covers?
Instead, it also prohibits tag covers from blocking the yellow decal on the tag.
What the more restrictive law really does is give cops another reason to pull your car over.
I’m all for law enforcement but at some point, it gets ridiculous. Cops already have dozens of reasons to stop a car and possibly search it. Another goofy one is the large white stripe that has been added to crosswalks at intersections. It actually is a hazard because if you stop there you often can’t see cars coming on the crossing street. But if your tires touch it at the stop, the cops can pounce.
You also can be stopped for window tinting, lights that don’t work and even not using your lights when it is raining. Plus driving too fast or too slow, failing to maintain your lane and not signaling when changing lanes.
When I covered the police for the Jacksonville Journal, cops had an all-purpose law: “vagrancy.”
You didn’t have to be a bum. Even if you had a job you could be arrested.
A young lawyer named Sam Jacobson didn’t think this was fair. He filed a lawsuit and it went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville (405 U.S. 156), decided Feb. 24, 1972, was a landmark decision, the Court ruled the local law was unconstitutionally vague, and failed to give fair notice of prohibited conduct and encouraged arbitrary arrests.
Jacksonville’s vagrancy ordinance criminalized a wide range of behaviors, such as “wandering or strolling without lawful purpose,” “habitual loafing,” or “prowling by auto.”
It failed to give ordinary people clear notice of what was illegal.
It criminalized activities that are normally innocent (e.g., strolling, loafing).
It gave police almost unlimited discretion, leading to arbitrary enforcement.
Justice William O. Douglas wrote the majority opinion. He said the vague law “encourages arbitrary and erratic arrests and conviction…” and declared it plainly unconstitutional.
Some legislators have too much time on their hands. It would be better used to eliminate silly laws that clutter the books, rather than adding new ones.
The latest development on this matter is that legislators are seeking to remove the requirement for the yellow decal placed on the tag each year – the same one the new law declares must not be covered.
The legislative session starts in a few weeks. Let’s start over, folks, and get it right.
