Lawyers Deride Confederate Flag “Racism,” “Violence,” Seek Removal from Santa Ana Courthouse

The Orange County Bar Association says the flag represents a "legacy of racism, exclusion, oppression, and violence"

A Mississippi state flag hanging at the Santa Ana Courthouse that bears the Confederate emblem is linked to racism, oppression and hate groups including the Ku Klux Klan, says a group of Orange County attorneys calling for its removal. 

A plaza at the downtown civic center, which includes the courthouse, features a display of all 50 state flags. However,  the Mississippi flag is the last state flag to retain the trademark blue "X"  with 13 white stars on a red background symbolizing the Civil War Confederacy.

A group of attorneys with the Orange County Bar Association signed a resolution in November urging the city to remove the flag.

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“The Confederate Battle Flag is inextricably linked to a legacy of racism, exclusion, oppression, and violence in various ways,” according to a resolution signed by the lawyers.

A statement from the city regarding the flag or resolution was not immediately made available on Thursday.

Wayne Gross, then-president of the association, said in a statement in November that he was proud of the resolution passed on the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

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“If we are to remain true to President Lincoln’s words that defined the Civil War as ‘a new birth of freedom,’ a flag design symbolizing racism and hatred has no place in or around courthouses,” said Gross, a high-profile trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor.

Gross, still a member of the board, was termed out of his role as president at the end of 2013.

The association recommended that the city replace the flag with an unspecified alternative symbol to represent Mississippi.

The earliest attempt to remove the flag dates back to 1997, according to the resolution.
 

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