The U.S. Supreme Court has turned away a Tennessee woman’s appeal of her state rejecting a personalized license plate for her car.
The court rejected the petition in Gilliam v. Gerregano on Dec. 8 in an unsigned order without comment. No justices dissented.
The petitioner, Leah Gilliam, is “an avid video gamer and an astronomy buff,” according to her petition filed with the Supreme Court.
In 2010, she applied to the state for a custom plate “69PWNDU,” a phrase that is “understandable to people who share her interests.” Gilliam says the “69” refers to the 1969 moon landing and “PWND” is a video gamers’ expression that means to be dominated or defeated. The Tennessee Department of Revenue approved the application and issued the plate, which she mounted on her car for 11 years, during which the department did not receive any complaints about it, the petition said….