Roanoke County Circuit Judge Charles Dorsey ordered a Confederate statue removed from next county courthouse grounds. This is the first time such an order has been issued in Virginia. The judge’s order can be found here. The statue itself is in front of the old county courthouse and is on property acquired by Roanoke College. The judge’s order allows the statue to remain in place if the court is moved.
Judge Dorsey wrote in an accompanying letter to the Roanoke Board of Supervisors that the presence of the statue interferes with the administration of justice. Judge Dorsey wrote that two weeks ago he saw an African American woman walk by the “statue of an armed Confederate,” look down and shake her head. He said he had been asked numerous times by the courthouse staff and lawyers with business before the court why the statue remained in its prominent location. Judge Dorsey wrote:
