ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A judge will weigh arguments from the Washington Redskins that canceling the team's trademarks would infringe on its free-speech rights.
A hearing is scheduled Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria on the team's lawsuit. Both sides in the dispute are asking the judge to rule in their favor before the case goes to trial later this year.
The team wants the judge to overturn a decision last year by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel the Redskins' trademark on the grounds that it may be offensive to Native Americans. The team's lawyers say the trademark law is unconstitutional because it regulates the content of speech.
The Justice Department has joined the case in opposition to the Redskins to defend the law's constitutionality.
