The U.S. Supreme Court has officially closed the door on a lawsuit that could have led to a new flag for Mississippi.
On Monday, the high court formally declined to hear the appeal of Grenada attorney Carlos Moore, a black city judge who said the flag’s Confederate battle emblem caused him health problems and relegates him to second-class citizen status.
After two lower courts tossed Moore’s suit, the Supreme Court in August asked Gov. Phil Bryant, who is named as a defendant in the case, to submit a response to Moore’s claims.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Congressional Black Caucus wrote briefs supporting Moore’s suit.
Moore told the Associated Press that he knew winning the case was a longshot, adding: “We’re hopeful that one day the flag will come down. … It seems that the public sentiment continues to change, and I am confident that it will come down in my lifetime and definitely in my daughter’s.”