Overview

• U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction late Monday to halt Act 573’s requirement that every public school classroom display the Ten Commandments.
• The injunction covers Bentonville, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs and Springdale while the lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality moves forward.
• Brooks cited the Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham ruling, which struck down a nearly identical Kentucky display law, as binding precedent against Act 573.
• Seven families represented by the ACLU of Arkansas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed the suit in June.
• Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is reviewing the decision and weighing an appeal as similar display laws in Louisiana and Texas remain tied up in court.