Virginia Supreme Court reconsiders cross-burning law on remand

Last year in the case of Virginia v. Black, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Virginia's statute criminalizing cross-burning could be constitutional, and sent the case back to the Virginia Supreme Court, for reinterpretation of the language in Va. Code § 18.2-423 which provides: "Any such burning of a cross shall be prima facie evidence of an intent to intimidate a person or group of persons." This article ("Cross-burning case back to state court for review," 1/31/2004) in the Norfolk paper describes the background of the case, which was reargued earlier this month before the Virginia Supreme Court.