Judge Hears Arguments Tuesday on Redskins' Free Speech Claims

Would canceling the Washington Redskins’ trademarks infringe on the football team’s free speech rights?

A federal judge in Alexandria Tuesday heard arguments from both the Washington Redskins football team and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, who will decide the case, asked lawyers at the start of the hearing Tuesday to focus on how a recent Supreme Court case on the Confederate flag affects the Redskins’ case, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled last year that the team could no longer use its trademark because they deemed it offensive to Native Americans.

The Justice Department has joined the case in opposition to the Redskins to defend the law’s constitutionality.

Lee will issue a written ruling at a later date, the AP report said. He can rule for either side or he can determine that the case should be decided at a formal bench trial later this year.