State v. Johnson

PRICE, WOMACK, KEASLER, HERVEY, HOLCOMB and COCHRAN, JJ., joined.

Does a motorist violate the law when a license plate frame obscures or partially obscures some aspect of the original design of the license plate, such as the name *387of the issuing state, the state nickname, or a pictorial design? We answer that question “yes.”

I. BACKGROUND

Appellee was stopped by a police officer solely because the license plate on his car was partially obscured by a license plate frame. The license plates on appellee’s car were of the standard Texas design. The frame partially obscured the word “Texas,” fully…