The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that an Italian heritage group can challenge the city of Pittsburgh’s efforts to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from Schenley Park. The Italian Sons and Daughters of America had filed a lawsuit after the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted to remove the statue in 2020. The group argued that the mayor could not override a 1955 city council ordinance that authorized the statue’s installation. The Commonwealth Court ruled that the previous judge had erred in dismissing the group’s claims entirely. The court also rejected the group’s challenge to the judge’s refusal to recuse himself from the case. The statue, which has been vandalized several times, remains in the park, but is currently covered in plastic. Disputes over Columbus statues have occurred in other cities across the country, including Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia.