By Rebecca Miller
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001; 10:31 p.m. EST

RICHMOND, Va. –– Virginia's solicitor general went to federal court Wednesday seeking to reverse a judge's decision allowing a heritage group to display the Confederate flag on specialty license plates.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans had sued the state of Virginia in 1999 after the General Assembly approved a plate for the organization but refused to allow the group's logo, which features a Confederate flag.

Some legislators argued the flag represents bigotry.

U.S. District Judge Jackson L. Kiser ruled in January that Virginia's refusal to issue the tag violated the group's free speech rights.

But Virginia Solicitor General William H. Hurd appealed Wednesday to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying the state has the right to control which groups and designs are allowed because the plates represent Virginia – once the capital of the Confederacy – and what it stands for.

In Virginia, the Department of Motor Vehicle issues specialty license plates if at least 350 people sign up for them; they must then be approved by the General Assembly.

The license plate would be available only to members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans who have proven their genealogical ties to the Confederacy, said Art Strickland, an attorney representing the group.

"No other organization is limited as to the use of their logo," Strickland said.

Courts in Maryland and North Carolina have recently sided with the group in similar license plate cases.