Overview
- All 17 active judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard consolidated oral arguments on Jan. 20 in New Orleans over laws requiring Ten Commandments posters in public school classrooms in Texas and Louisiana.
- A three-judge panel last year called Louisiana’s law “plainly unconstitutional,” but that decision was vacated when the full court granted en banc review.
- Families represented by the ACLU, Americans United and the Freedom From Religion Foundation argued the mandates endorse a preferred Protestant text, coerce students who cannot avoid classroom displays and remain barred by Stone v. Graham.
- Texas and Louisiana officials contended the posters are passive acknowledgments of the nation’s legal heritage under the Supreme Court’s Kennedy v. Bremerton history-and-tradition approach, as judges pressed both sides about coercion, limiting principles and comparisons to the Pledge, the Declaration and MLK’s writings.
- No ruling was issued, district-level injunctions blocking enforcement in many Texas districts remain in effect, and state officials continue pushing compliance as donated posters circulate and some districts delay or resist displays.