The city of Birmingham and the state of Alabama are awaiting a decision on whether a box-like structure around a 52-foot-tall Confederate monument violates state law.

Lawyers argued in court hearing last week over the whether it violates a new state law prohibiting the removal and alteration of monuments more than 40 years old. The judge asked the city and state to provide additional information.

The city’s mayor erected the screen last year. The Alabama attorney general’s office sued the city, saying the actions violate the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.

City attorneys argued in court filings last month that the plywood screen did not technically remove or alter the monument.

(Associated Press, copyright 2018)