The Lawblog reports:

The Supreme Court of Georgia has rejected the state’s effort to throw out a lawsuit challenging the right of the Ku Klux Klan to participate in its “Adopt-A-Highway” program.

The  Knights of the Ku Klux Klan applied to participate in the state-run program, which enlists “citizen volunteers” to help remove litter from roadsides. Participants  get their names printed on signs posted along the stretch of “adopted” roadway.

The KKK group proposed adopting a one-mile segment of State Route 515 in Union County. In rejecting the group’s bid, Georgia’s transportation department said it was concerned that “erecting a sign naming an organization which has a long-rooted history of civil disturbance would cause a significant public concern.”

The ACLU of Georgia sued Georgia on behalf of the KKK chapter  claiming the state’s denial of the application violated a “fundamental right to free speech.”

The Georgia Supreme Court’s decision was made on procedural grounds and allows the case to proceed to trial.