Attorney: Suit against Confederate emblem not a lost cause

JACKSON, Miss. – An attorney says he's not surrendering his legal battle to erase the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi flag.

Carlos Moore says Friday that he will file a notice next week asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive his lawsuit challenging the banner.

Moore sued the state six months ago, arguing that the rebel X that's been on Mississippi's flag since 1894 is an unconstitutional vestige of slavery that creates a hostile environment for him and other African-Americans.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves dismissed the suit Thursday, saying Moore failed to show a "cognizable legal injury."

Reeves considered pretrial arguments, and Moore says he will ask the appeals court to require Reeves to hold a full trial.

Mississippi's is the last state flag featuring the Confederate emblem.