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Motorist sues state to keep GETOSAMA license plate

BY STACEY ALTHERR | stacey.altherr@newsday.com

8:19 PM EST, November 29, 2007

The man with the "GETOSAMA" license plates now wants to get the Department of Motor Vehicles into court.

Arno Herwerth, a retired New York Police Department sergeant and a Hauppauge resident, filed a civil rights lawsuit against the agency Monday, saying the DMV violated his right to free speech by insisting his vanity license plates be returned because it deemed the message offensive.

The lawsuit asks for an injunction against the DMV's taking back the plates until the issue has been litigated. It names David J. Swarts, the DMV commissioner, as well as Mark Ellinger, the supervisor who demanded the return of the plates.

"I've never heard of a case where the government was trying to suppress patriotic speech -- speech that supports the public policy of the United States," said Vincent Amicizia, of Smithtown, Herwerth's pro-bono attorney.

"Not only has the president said we would 'get him' but he sent troops over to Afghanistan to 'get him' as we speak."

The Nassau chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union said it successfully challenged a similar ruling in July 2005 when another Long Island driver was refused the license plate "MPEACHW." Tara Keenan-Thomson, the chapter's executive director, said a Vermont court decision has also said the governnment may restrict content, but not opinions.

A DMV spokesman said the agency could not comment on pending litigation.