STATE DISPLAYS OF CONFEDERATE SYMBOLS: LEGAL CHALLENGES AND THE POLITICAL QUESTION DOCTRINE

Abstract

Official state displays of Confederate symbols, especially in state flags, have been challenged in court in recent years. In challenging such displays, plaintiffs often have relied upon various constitutional and statutory provisions, including, in order of preference, the Fourteenth, Thirteenth, and First Amendments, as well as various civil rights statutes and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In most instances, however, courts have held that cases involving state displays of Confederate symbols are political questions that should be addressed in a legislative, not judicial, forum. Accordingly, absent the development of a new legal strategy, plaintiffs' time, money and energy probably would be better spent lobbying state legislatures for redress in lieu of continuing to rely upon a judicial forum.