FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2018 file photo, a statue commemorating fallen confederate soldiers stands on front of the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, La. An appeals court on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 rejected a request by Louisiana defendant Ronnie Anderson to have his trial moved from the courthouse with a Confederate monument out front. The one-page ruling gave no reasoning for the decision. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Republished June 12, 2019 - 9:14 AM
Original Publication Date June 12, 2019 - 7:36 AM
NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana appeals court has rejected a black man's request to move his trial to a courthouse without a Confederate monument out front.
The 2-1 decision Tuesday gave no reason for denying Ronnie Anderson's request to move his trial from the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, where he faces a weapons charge after a traffic stop.
Defence attorney Niles Haymer called the statue of a Confederate soldier in the courthouse entryway "offensive, intimidating and racially insensitive."
District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla said the defence didn't prove prejudice, and the parish tries to ensure justice is colour-blind.
The Advocate reported that the judge who rejected Anderson's request in November said it's "just a piece of granite," and the American flag is the only symbol inside the courtroom.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019