Particle.news
Download on the App Store
22 ARTICLES
·
4h ago

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Louisiana Law Mandating Ten Commandments in Classrooms

Attorney General Liz Murrill plans to seek full Fifth Circuit review before appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court

391223 04: A 42-year-old Ten Commandments sculpture is on display in front of city hall June 27, 2001 in Grand Junction, CO.
A copy of the Ten Commandments in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024.
A monument with the Ten Commandments sits on the north side of the Texas capitol, in Austin, Texas, on January 6, 2011.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of restrictions imposed by lower courts on its ability to encourage social media companies to remove content deemed misinformation, in Washington, U.S., March 18, 2024. REUTERS/Bonnie Cash/File Photo

Overview

  • A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a district court’s injunction, ruling the mandate violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
  • Enacted in June 2024 under Gov. Jeff Landry, the law required public K-12 schools and state-funded universities to display 11-by-14-inch posters of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
  • The lawsuit was filed by parents representing Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious backgrounds who argued the displays amounted to government endorsement of religion.
  • The decision cites the 1980 Supreme Court ruling in Stone v. Graham, which struck down a similar Kentucky requirement for lacking a secular purpose.
  • Civil liberties groups warn the ruling could shape legal battles over comparable laws in Texas and Arkansas that seek to introduce religious texts into public school settings.