Judge sets trial date for lawsuit blocking removal of Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue

August 25, 2020 at 5:54 p.m. EDT

The Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

RICHMOND — A Circuit Court judge has scheduled a trial for Oct. 19 to consider whether Gov. Ralph Northam can remove the enormous statue of Robert E. Lee from state property on Monument Avenue.

Judge W. Reilly Marchant ruled Tuesday against efforts by state Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) to dismiss the case. Marchant stripped some plaintiffs from parts of the suit for lack of standing and threw out a portion of the case that questioned whether a particular section of state law prohibited Northam (D) from removing the statue.

But the bulk of the suit remains, brought by several residents of the historical neighborhood around the Lee memorial. The residents claim Northam’s action violates a resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1889 establishing the monument, as well as promises to protect the statue in the 1887 and 1890 deeds conveying the property to the state.

This is the third version of the lawsuit seeking to protect the statue; two others were withdrawn.

A separate lawsuit is also proceeding against the city and Mayor Levar Stoney over the three other Confederate statues that he had removed from city property along Monument Avenue. However, the City Council has voted to make those removals permanent, and Marchant — who is also hearing that case — has suggested that it’s unlikely he would order the monuments to be replaced.