Federal Court Deals Blow To CONfederate Flag, But Can The Folks Still Whistle "Dixie"?

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's grant of summary judgment to a Tennessee public high school in a lawsuit brought by three students who claimed the school's ban on wearing the Confederate flag violated their First Amendment, Equal Protection, and Due Process rights under the US Constitution.

You can read more on the story from the H-L.

The court stated that there was no First Amendment violation because "the school reasonably forecast that images of the Confederate flag would substantially and materially disrupt the school environment".

The court also held that the Equal Protection guarantee was not infringed because "the dress code’s ban on racially divisive symbols" satisfied intermediate scrutiny, and that the students had forfeited their Due Process claim by not sufficiently developing it.

This ruling is similar to one in 2003, where the Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit filed by Matthew Dixon, a man who was fired for displaying Confederate flag stickers at work.

The New York Times carried the story then.

Editor's comment: I guess these CONfederates can still whistle "Dixie".