Future of New Orleans Confederate monuments argued in court

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The future of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans is the focus of a highly anticipated court case Wednesday.

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments on whether the city can remove the four monuments, which have become flashpoints for racial controversy.

The City Council voted in December 2015 to remove statues of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis and a monument honoring whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government in New Orleans.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged the monuments be removed after police said a white supremacist who posed for photos with the Confederate battle flag killed nine parishioners inside an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year.

But their removal has been sharply controversial in this Deep South city where passions over the Civil War still run strong. Opponents argue that the monuments are part of the city's history and they should be protected historic structures. Others say they're offensive artifacts honoring the region's slave-owning past.

A contractor hired to remove the monuments later pulled out of the job, citing death threats and possible loss of business. The city has put the bid process on hold until the court process is finalized.

The city went through a lengthy review before deciding whether to remove the statues - sessions often heated with public debate.

Hayne Rainey, a spokesman for the mayor said ahead of Wednesday's hearing that they "remain committed to taking down the four monuments."

Those trying to keep the monuments up appealed to both state and federal courts. In federal court, they argued the city should not be allowed to remove the monuments while the federal case was still being heard. A federal judge disagreed, allowing the city to go ahead with the removal.

But an appeals court later blocked the city from removing the monuments until they could hear arguments in Wednesday's hearing.

The plaintiffs - four historical organizations - have advanced many arguments; among them, that their constitutional rights had been violated by the process for removal, the monuments were protected by historic preservation laws, by maintaining the monuments over the years they've gained recognizable property interest in them and that removing the monuments could irreparably harm them. They're asking the appeals court to grant them an injunction that would remain in effect throughout the litigation - meaning the city can't remove the monuments for months or years.

The city argues that local governing authority owns and controls the removal of public monuments. They say the four organizations have already had the opportunity to speak repeatedly at the public meetings.

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