Could the Pensacola Confederate monument come back? Federal ruling may make it possible.
Pensacola may face the prospect of having to restore the Confederate monument after a federal appeals court overturned a previous ruling that cleared the way for the city to remove the monument in 2020.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled Monday that the federal court did not have jurisdiction over the case when it ruled the groups that sued the city to block the removal of the monument lacked standing to file a lawsuit.
The result of the ruling means the legal battle will have to play out in state court.
The Ladies Memorial Association, the Stephen Mallory Camp 1315 Sons of Confederate Veterans, Save Our Southern Heritage Florida Chapter and others sued Pensacola in state court after the City Council voted to remove the monument in July 2020.
The city had the case removed to federal court where a federal judge ruled the groups lacked standing to sue the city over the monument.
The Ladies Memorial Association and others appealed the ruling. Last year, the court ordered the two parties to enter mediation, which did not go anywhere, and on Monday, a three-judge panel unanimously ruled the case should go back to the state.
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"This case is a topsy-turvey procedural mess," Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote in his unanimous opinion. "And, today, we are prevented from joining in the chaos because neither we nor the District Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case."
City spokesperson Kayce Lagarde told the News Journal the city can't comment on the issue because of the pending litigation.
The monument, an 8-foot statue of a Confederate soldier, along with the 50-foot granite pedestal, sat at 602 N. Palafox St. for 129 years. The monument currently remains in storage at the Port of Pensacola.
David McCallister, the attorney representing the Ladies Memorial Association and other groups, told the News Journal they were happy about the ruling and would be asking the state court to restore the situation.
"We certainly will be asking for the status quo ante to be restored, the situation before it got sent to the federal court because the federal court had no jurisdiction," McCallister said. "It shouldn't have been doing the things that it did. Of course, the city should not have been doing the things that it did in removing the monument to begin with."
The case will go back to the federal district court where the judge will have to formally send it back to state court.
McCallister said his group would file in state court very soon to seek the restoration of the monument.
Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Confederate monument could be restored after federal ruling
