Judge hears arguments in Charleston cruise case

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys argued such things as whether a ship is a hotel and whether a cruise liner’s smokestack is a sign when a South Carolina judge heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the expanded cruise industry in historic Charleston.

Circuit Judge Clifton Newman heard more than three hours of arguments in the case that attracted national attention after Carnival Cruise Lines was sued last year by city residents, preservationists and environmentalists.