Hearing Set In Flag Suit

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A federal judge is ordering attorneys to file arguments over whether courts have standing to decide if Mississippi should remove the Confederate battle emblem from its state flag.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves has set a March 21 deadline for briefs by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, who’s defending the state, and Carlos Moore, a private attorney who sued the state seeking to have the flag declared an unconstitutional vestige of slavery.

In his scheduling order filed late Monday, Reeves also told Moore to stop making “false or misleading public statements,” such as saying that African-Americans could be entitled to reparations if the flag is found unconstitutional or that Reeves will change the flag because he is African-American. Moore said both things last week during a rally at the Capitol.