Western Wisconsin
District Judge Barbara B. Crabb wrote in June, 1998, that
the Act "violates the Tenth Amendment of the United
States Constitution."
Those who brought the
suit against the feds and their Act include a half
dozen Wisconsin state representatives, a state senator,
and Roger D. Cross, who heads up Wisconsin's Dept. of
Motor Vehicles.
Judge Crabb's ruling
frees up Wisconsin's vehicle information. But it
apparently applies only to the Wisconsin District,not
elsewhere. No one has so far brought a corresponding
federal suit in Seattle's U.S. District Court.
The Act has served as
the sole basis for the Locke Administration's cutting off
access to vehicle license information to selected
businesses in Washington state.
The state has not said
what criteria were used to terminate certain businesses,
while allowing others to retain access.
Washington's Dept. of
Licensing knows about the Crabb decision in Wisconsin,
according to DOL public affairs official Mark Varadian.
The Locke Administration, however, has chosen to ignore
the federal court ruling.