[ntmatter]

In Washington state it's a moving violation; I was pinched for this in my Viper some time back. I tried to point out (nicely, with pictures) to the judge that Dodge didn't make front plate mounts because the cars would get hot and fail emmissions, but she said I should then screw it or duct tape it or whatever. Then she called me an idiot (I'm not kidding) and charged me the full fine.

After that I carried around in my trunk my front plate bolted to a mount with suckers to hold it on (they make them for Vipers). When pulled over I'd say, "sorry, I was at a car show/race track (depending on the car's condition) and forgot to stick the plate back on". That worked every time.