Dear Heritage Defenders:

I do hope that everyone has had a great week.  The SLRC has had quite a busy week.  We do still have some "Thumbs up for Dixie Stickers" and they are selling quite well.  Many SCV camps are ordering the stickers for fundraisers.  Order your stickers today. We have excellent price breaks starting when you order 100 stickers.

Curtis Storey

This most important case is being considered to be heard on its merits by the Third Circuit.  The appeal will be argued before a panel of 3 judges between December 1 through December 15.  This is great news and we will keep you posted.  Chief Trial Counsel Lyons will argue the case.

NRA Case

We filed a friend of the court brief in Newsom v. Albermarle County, Virginia which was argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  A student, Alan Newsom, was suspended for wearing a NRA shooting sports shirt to school.  The NRA asked us to file a friend of the court brief, which we filed, and the court accepted.

The Virginia Attorney General also filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the plaintiff as well.

If this case ends with a favorable ruling, it will expand student’s free speech rights which by extension will include Confederate symbols.

Coburg Dairy Case

There is some great news in this case.  The US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has agreed to rehear the Coburg Confederate flag case.  I have attached the following story from the Associated Press:

Federal appeals court to rehear Confederate flag case
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A federal appeals court will rehear the case of a Summerville man fired from his job for displaying stickers with the Confederate flag on his toolbox.

Matthew Dixon was a refrigerator mechanic at Coburg's North Charleston office and refused to remove two Confederate flag emblems from his toolbox after a black co-worker complained.

The dairy said the stickers violated company policy against workplace harassment.

In May, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., upheld Coburg's position.  But last week, the full court agreed to rehear the case this December.

In its earlier 2-1 ruling, the court found "Dixon has a constitutionally protected right to fly the Confederate battle flag from his home, car or truck."

But, the majority ruled, "in the context of this case, Dixon's First Amendment right does not extend to bringing the Confederate flag inside his employer's privately owned workplace."

The court, as it never does, did not explain why it would rehear the case.  But, according to court documents, at least one unidentified member of the full court polled the other judges asking them to hear the matter again, The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported Wednesday.

University of South Carolina constitutional law professor Richard Seamon said it is not unheard of for the full court to dismiss a ruling based on the effort of a judge who disagrees with a position.

"It's really that the judge considers the case to be very important in terms of presenting the legal issue and one that the full court needs to resolve because of its importance," he said.

Attorney Tom Kilpatrick, representing Coburg, doesn't expect the full court to change the ruling.

"I believe that the initial panel got it right the first time," he said.

But Dixon said he was happy for another hearing.

"Bottom line is I felt one man's heritage was being chosen over the other's," he said.

Information from: The Post And Courier

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