The York County Courthouse in South Carolina is once again host to a decorative Confederate flag that hearkens back to the state's Civil War days.

Officials returned the Confederate flag to the premises after the clerk of court, David Hamilton, was informed that removing the decorations was illegal under the state's Heritage Act. The Heritage Act, passed in 2000, requires a two-thirds vote by the state government to make changes to a monument, according to Fox News.

Hamilton originally sought to remove the flag and portraits of Confederate generals from the courthouse under the belief that the Heritage Act did not apply to the situation.

"It is a different time," said Hamilton. "When we looked at the historical items that included Civil War era items. This is a new era and time, and it is time to move on."

Some of the reasons authorities originally moved to rid the facility of Confederate materials had to do with legal precedent.

In a case that occurred over 20 years ago, an African-American defendant asked that a Confederate flag be removed from the rear of a courtroom or that the trial take place in a different courtroom, according to The Herald.

"It was an issue, the flag and the pictures in the courtroom, that was raised in court," said Kevin Brackett, 16th Circuit solicitor.

Two defense lawyers, Tom Kinney and Harry Dest, agreed with Hamilton's decision to remove Confederate memorabilia from York County Courthouse.

"There is no place in a court of law, a place of justice for all, for the Confederate flag," stated McKinney.

At the time of the flag removal, Hamilton's decision was supported by many legal authorities.

"A courtroom is meant to provide justice for everyone equally," said Montrio Belton, treasurer of the York County Bar Association. "The halls of justice mean everyone is equal. But the Confederate flag in a courtroom says something to people of color, that some way they might be disenfranchised."

After Hamilton went public with his intentions to remove any Confederate memorabilia from the courthouse, state officials informed Hamilton that doing so was in direct violation of the Heritage Act, according to WFMY.

"The decision to change course and put the items back in the courtroom came after additional research, and is 100 percent not my personal feelings one way or another," explained Hamilton. "This decision is to be in compliance with a more strict interpretation of the Heritage Act."