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There won’t be any decisions made this week in the Confederate flag case. In fact, residents will have to wait until the end of this month before the respective parties will be seen in court at all. 

Originally, the case had been scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Prince Edward County officials asked for, and received, a continuance after one of their attorneys announced he was sick. This marks the third continuance issued in the case. It was previously pushed back on Sept. 9 and then again on Oct. 8. The first time, it was Bowman’s attorney that asked for the hearing to be pushed back. Then in October, it was the county’s legal staff asking for it to be continued. Now it’s the county getting the case pushed back once more. Understandably, dealing with yet another delay in the case was frustrating for Bowman, who posted a since deleted video to Facebook, questioning why another lawyer from the firm hired by the county couldn’t take over. Instead, this case will go back to court on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 with a 1 p.m. start time currently scheduled. 

The argument here is about the size of the Confederate flag owned and put up by Carolyn Bowman on her property at the intersection of East 3rd Street and U.S. 460. Opponents of the flag and the county say the Confederate flag exceeds the allowable height limit and is not authorized under the zoning ordinance. But over the last two years, it’s been easy to get confused as to the current status of the situation. The county has changed the flag ordinance rules twice, with court hearings and appeals being filed from both sides about both the flag and the height of the flagpole, which is a completely different story.

Year Three in Confederate flag case 

It all comes down to one question. If a flag is replaced with a newer version, is it still grandfathered in or does it have to follow the current county zoning ordinance, which was created after the original had been put up? The case also would also make it clear when and if a county’s zoning ordinance could be enforced in such a situation. A ruling here could set precedent across the Commonwealth, which is one reason why there’s been so much interest. 

At the time the Confederate flag originally went up, the county really didn’t have a maximum height rule in place for flags. That changed after the Prince Edward board of supervisors met back on April 12, 2022. Coming out of closed session, the group passed an emergency ordinance, which capped the maximum area for a flag at 40 square feet or 5 x 8. 

The Bowman family argued their flag had been up before the emergency ordinance went into effect, so it should be grandfathered in. County officials countered that argument, claiming that the family had replaced the original flag after the emergency ordinance was put in place and so they need to reduce the size of the flag. This claim went to both the Board of Zoning Appeals and Prince Edward Circuit Court, where a judge ruled in the county’s favor. Meanwhile, the county had also challenged the allowed size of the flagpole itself. The county lost that one, as the Bowman family showed proof they had been given a building permit for the flagpole from the same county now looking to remove it. The judge ruled with the Bowman family in that case. 

Then last year, after debate that spanned several months at both the planning commission and board of supervisors, county officials changed the rules again. The change came because the board’s 2022 decision had led to county staff finding several American flags in violation of the rules, which led to some heated public comment periods from irate residents. As it stands now, a Prince Edward resident can have up to three flags, totaling 120 square feet, on one parcel of land. 

Zoning violation filed 

To explain, the current rules mean a 10 ft. x 12 ft. flag would be allowed, one fifth the size of the current flag on the Bowman property, which totals 600 square feet. Now as mentioned before, existing flags and flagpoles are typically grandfathered in on an ordinance. That means they have to meet the requirements at the time they went up, rather than what’s in place now. But what brought this case back to court is an argument that the Bowmans are in violation of the current ordinance, due to a claim that they’ve replaced the Confederate flag with a newer version. 

This argument led to Planner Robert Love, on behalf of Prince Edward County, filing a complaint in August of this year. As a result, Carolyn Bowman was charged with a misdemeanor, as the county alleged that she violated the zoning ordinance due to “sign placement”. Signs and flags are covered under the same zoning ordinance. 

It will now be at least the end of December, if not later in 2025, before both sides in the Confederate flag case get an answer.