Judge Rejects Motion to Move Case over Confederate Statue

A Louisiana judge has rejected a motion by an African-American defendant to move his court case because of a Confederate monument in front of the courthouse.

Niles Haymer, who represents Ronnie Anderson, says Judge Kathryn Jones rejected the motion Tuesday.

Anderson and Haymer argued Anderson couldn't get a fair trial in the same place where a "symbol of oppression and racial intolerance" stands.

The monument of the unnamed Confederate soldier has stood outside the East Feliciana Parish courthouse north of Baton Rouge since 1909.

While Jones refused to move the case — saying Anderson filed his motion too late — she also threw out the most serious charges he faced, including firearms charges. He now only faces a traffic ticket.