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Legal Battle Continues Over Confederate Monument In Winston-Salem

The statue of a soldier in a Confederate uniform was removed by city officials in March. KERI BROWN/WFDD

A Confederate monument lawsuit that drew a standing-room-only crowd to a Forsyth County courthouse Monday will continue for at least another day. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Superior Court Judge Eric Morgan said he needed more time to hear motions from both sides.

One of the motions is a request to dismiss the case. That came from the city and another defendant, Winston Courthouse LLC, a private company that now owns the property where the statue once stood.

City officials removed the monument in March.

A big question is: did the city have the right to do that?

The United Daughters of the Confederacy says Forsyth County might have the final say, since it was excluded in the sale of the former courthouse. If so, the statue could be protected by a 2015 state law.

City officials say it's a public nuisance and a safety concern. Winston Courthouse LLC also asked UDC to remove it.

The Confederate monument had been at the corner of Fourth and Liberty Streets in Winston-Salem since 1905. Supporters say it serves as a memorial to local soldiers who died during the Civil War. The monument was vandalized twice in recent years. A few protests were also held in front of it over the past several months.

You can follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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