DAVIE, Fla. — Serious legal questions have been raised over a new Florida law.

That law empowers officers to pull drivers over, fine or even arrest them if their license plate is “obscured.”

The so-called license plate law prohibits anything, “covering, obscuring, or otherwise interfering with the legibility, angular visibility, or detectability of the primary features.”

University of Miami law professor Tamara Lave sees some issues.

“The law is vague, the law is badly written,” said Lave. “Certainly, one of the foreseeable consequences for this law is that it allows the police to stop just about anybody. The law is as written confusing.”

Confusion over the law is what the Davie Police Department claims landed one South Florida man wrongfully behind bars earlier this week.

A Davie police officer arrested 40-year-old Demarquize Dawson before later letting him go.

His family was still so distraught about the event that they declined to speak about it on Thursday.

The Davie Police Department apologized for the arrest, claiming the law appeared to be open for misinterpretation.

The state has since sent out clarification to police departments.

It says the law, “does not prohibit the use of a license plate frame as long as they don’t block…the alpha numeric plate identifier or the decal in the top right.”

And as long as an officer can identify the state that issued the plate, then it’s all good.

“It was never intended to address or deal with the standard accepted license plate frames and that’s where all the frustration is coming,” said State Rep. Doug Bankson, R-Apopka, who authored the legislation. “The original intent, of course, was to deal with those who were using devices to cover their license plates when it comes to going through toll booths.”

In its clarification, the state says people shouldn’t worry about the average frame on a license plate.

Lave said if you want to play it safe, take the frame off.

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