Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Is Unconstitutional, Appeals Court Says
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
‘Not a theocracy’: Internet erupts after court blocks Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law
A federal appeals court unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that found Louisiana’s law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments to be unconstitutional. In a 3-0 decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a previous district court ruling. The case against this measure was brought by a coalition of parents, students, and clergy, who argued the law infringed on religious freedom and failed to respect the religious diversity of public school communities. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill vowed to continue defending the law, indicating the state will seek further review of the case. Meanwhile, social media users welcomed Friday’s decision, praising the court for upholding the constitution.
In a 3-0 decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a previous district court ruling that the statute violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion.
“Parents and students challenge a statute requiring public schools to permanently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom in Louisiana,” the court wrote in its opinion. “The district court found the statute facially unconstitutional and preliminarily enjoined its enforcement. We affirm.”
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The law, known as House Bill 71, was passed earlier this year and mandated the posting of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms across public K-12 schools and state-funded universities.
The case against this measure was brought by a coalition of parents, students, and clergy, who argued the law infringed on religious freedom and failed to respect the religious diversity of public school communities.
“We are grateful for this decision, which honors the religious diversity and religious-freedom rights of public school families across Louisiana,” said Rev. Darcy Roake, one of the plaintiffs, per NBC News.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill vowed to continue defending the law, indicating the state will seek further review.
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“We strongly disagree with the Fifth Circuit’s affirmance of an injunction preventing five Louisiana parishes from implementing HB71,” Murrill said in a statement, as reported by NBC. “We will immediately seek relief from the full Fifth Circuit and, if necessary, the United States Supreme Court.”
The ruling currently applies to five school districts whose families are plaintiffs in the case.
Meanwhile, social media users welcomed Friday’s decision, praising the court for upholding the constitution.
Columnist Mark James Miller, reacting to the news, wrote on the social platform X: “Choke on this, fake Christians!”
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“Criticizing Iranian theocratic rule while trying to do this s— is wild. Foiled, thankfully,” wrote a user on the social platform X.
Another X user wrote: “Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law in public schools blocked by federal appeals court: good, because we are a democracy, NOT A THEOCRACY LIKE SAUDI ARABIA OR IRAN!”
5th Circuit Panel: Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is unconstitutional
A three-judge panel at the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court’s ruling. The law requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom. A group of public school parents sued the state in federal court, alleging that the law violated the First Amendment. Attorney General Liz Murrill: “We will immediately seek relief from the full Fifth Circuit and, if necessary, the United States Supreme Court.”
Loyola University New Orleans law professor Dane Ciolino says the ruling should come as no surprise.
“The United States Supreme Court in 1980 ruled that it was unconstitutional to post or require the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools. That violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment,” says Ciolino. “Although there have been developments in the establishment clause jurisprudence since then, the court has not overruled the 1980 opinion out of Kentucky, and it is still good law today, and that’s exactly what the Fifth Circuit said in its opinion on Friday.”
Days after Gov. Landry signed House Bill 71 during the 2024 regular legislative session, a group of public school parents sued the state in federal court, alleging that the law violated the First Amendment.
So far, every court that has weighed in has agreed with the plaintiffs.
Ciolino says while analysis of that 1980 ruling has evolved since then, the overall essence of the opinion has held steady, as evidenced by the panel’s ruling that stated that the law is, in its words, “plainly unconstitutional.”
“The court went to great lengths to say that even under the new establishment clause analysis, Louisiana statute fails and doesn’t pass constitutional muster,” Ciolino says.
Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement following the decision:
“We strongly disagree with the Fifth Circuit’s affirmance of an injunction preventing five Louisiana parishes from implementing HB71,” Murrill’s statement reads. “We will immediately seek relief from the full Fifth Circuit and, if necessary, the United States Supreme Court.”
Ciolino says there’s no guarantee that the Supreme Court will even take up the case.
“I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion, particularly since the Fifth Circuit found that even under the new jurisprudence, this statue’s unconstitutional,” says Ciolino.
Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state’s public school classrooms is unconstitutional. The ruling Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state. The mandate has been touted by Republicans, including President Donald Trump, and marks one of the latest pushes by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ order stems from a lawsuit filed last year by parents of Louisiana school children from various religious backgrounds, who said the law violates First Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion. The plaintiffs’ attorneys and Louisiana disagreed on whether the appeals court’s decision applied to every public school district in the state or only the districts party to the lawsuit.
FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway at the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway at the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway at the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway at the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state’s public school classrooms is unconstitutional.
The ruling Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state, and that the poster-sized displays would isolate students — especially those who are not Christian.
The mandate has been touted by Republicans, including President Donald Trump, and marks one of the latest pushes by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms. Backers of the law argue the Ten Commandments belong in classrooms because they are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys and Louisiana disagreed on whether the appeals court’s decision applied to every public school district in the state or only the districts party to the lawsuit.
“All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution,” said Liz Hayes, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs.
The appeals court’s rulings “interpret the law for all of Louisiana,” Hayes added. “Thus, all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she disagreed and believed the ruling only applied to school districts in the five parishes that were party to the lawsuit and that she would seek to appeal the ruling.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ order stems from a lawsuit filed last year by parents of Louisiana school children from various religious backgrounds, who said the law violates First Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion.
The mandate was signed into law last June by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry.
The court’s ruling backs an order issued last fall by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who declared the mandate unconstitutional and ordered state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision.
Law experts have long said they expect the Louisiana case to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, testing the conservative court on the issue of religion and government.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose.
In 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin.
Louisiana Ten Commandments Law Blocked
A federal appeals court in Baton Rouge upheld a lower court’s ruling — blocking their display. The appeals court declared the law is “facially unconstitutional’ for violating the First Amendment. The ruling sets the stage for a potential Supreme Court showdown, as Louisiana officials, including Attorney General Liz Murrill, have signaled their intent to appeal. The case could test the current Supreme Court’s stance on church-state separation, especially given recent rulings favoring religious expression in public settings.
Syndication: Amarillo Globe-News
(Baton Rouge, LA) – A significant ruling has been issued in the ongoing dispute over Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law. The law, signed by Governor Jeff Landry in June 2024, mandated that every public school classroom and state-funded university classroom display a poster of the Ten Commandments by January 1, 2025. But a federal appeals court in Baton Rouge upheld a lower court’s ruling — blocking their display.
The appeals court declared the law is “facially unconstitutional” for violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. Originally, a lawsuit challenged the law — as initiated by a coalition of parents from diverse religious backgrounds, including Christians, Jews, and nonbelievers. They argued that the mandate infringed on their First Amendment rights and imposed religious beliefs on students.
The blocked law, known as House Bill 71, required an 11-by-14-inch poster of the Ten Commandments in a “large, easily readable font,” accompanied by a four-paragraph “context statement” asserting their historical significance to US law. Proponents, including Governor Landry and Republican lawmakers, argued that the Ten Commandments are a foundational historical document, not solely a religious text, and cited a 2005 Supreme Court ruling permitting their display in certain government settings. However, opponents, represented by groups like the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, contended that the law lacked a secular purpose and effectively coerced students into exposure to a specific religious doctrine.
This ruling sets the stage for a potential Supreme Court showdown, as Louisiana officials, including Attorney General Liz Murrill, have signaled their intent to appeal, possibly as early as January 2025. The case could test the current Supreme Court’s stance on church-state separation, especially given its recent rulings favoring religious expression in public settings.
Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law
The Fifth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals has ruled that Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is unconstitutional. The law was set to take effect in January of this year, but a Federal Judge issued a ruling in November that froze the law. The initial ruling was appealed to the Fifth Circuit, where it was affirmed today by a three judge panel. The Fifth Circuit’s unanimous decision declared the law “plainly unconstitutional” Louisiana’s attorney general has indicated her plans to appeal to the full Fifth Circuit and push for the Supreme Court to hear the case.
The Ten Commandments law was designed to require a posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom across the state. Months before it was set to take effect, a Federal Judge issued ruled that the law was unconstitutional, which froze the law before it could start. The planned law was set to force the Ten Commandments to be posted in January of this year, but with the initial ruling and ongoing legal fight, the law never started.
Courts Rules Against Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law
The initial ruling came from Federal Judge John W. deGravelles, and was issued in November of 2024. In his ruling, he stated:
“Each of the Plaintiffs’ minor children will be forced ‘in every practical sense,’ through Louisiana’s required attendance policy, to be a ‘captive audience’ and to participate in a religious exercise: reading and considering a specific version of the Ten Commandments, one posted in every single classroom, for the entire school year, regardless of the age of the student or subject matter of the course”
Unanimous Decision Declares Law “Plainly Unconstitutional”
The initial ruling was appealed to the Fifth Circuit (often called the most conservative courts in the country), where it was affirmed today by a three judge panel. The ruling from the panel was unanimous, and declared the law “plainly unconstitutional.”
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Louisiana is not the first state to attempt to force the Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools, they’re just the latest. Before Louisiana, it was last attempted by the state of Kentucky in the late 1970s. That case was argued all the way to the Supreme Court, where the court ruled in Stone v. Graham that posting the Ten Commandments violated the First Amendment, and was unconstitutional. That ruling is what guided the Fifth Circuit’s unanimous decision.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has indicated her plans are to appeal to the full Fifth Circuit, and push for the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Why a Supreme Court Hearing Remains a Longshot
If the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, it would be a rarity. The highest court in the land very rarely hears matters which a previous Supreme Court has already ruled on. Meaning the court would have to overrule the Stone v. Graham ruling, which some experts say has happened on roughly 0.5% the courts judgments.