BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Louisiana’s new law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms is unconstitutional, blocking its enforcement while legal challenges continue.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge deemed the requirement “facially unconstitutional” in “all applications” in a 176-page opinion. The law would have mandated schools display the Commandments beginning January 1.
The ruling marks a setback for Gov. Jeff Landry and conservative supporters who advocated for the legislation.
“Each and every student and their family have the independent autonomy and authority under the First Amendment to choose their own faith,” said Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, which represented the plaintiffs. She said displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms violates that right.
State Attorney General Liz Murrill announced plans to appeal immediately. Supporters argue the Ten Commandments hold historical, not just religious, significance in America’s founding.
“Moses is on the top of the East Frieze of the United States Supreme Court,” Murrill said after a hearing last month. “Moses appears inside the Supreme Court and outside, I think in nine different places.”
But Pastor Fred Jeff Smith of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Baton Rouge supported the ruling.
“I believe in Jesus Christ as my savior and my Lord, but that’s not the belief of every citizen of this community,” Smith said. “That’s not the belief of every student that attends public schools.”
The case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1980 struck down a similar Kentucky law as unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
Here is AG Murrill’s full statement: “We strongly disagree with the court’s decision and will immediately appeal, as HB 71’s implementation deadline is approaching on January 1, 2025. This decision only binds five of Louisiana’s many school boards. School boards are independently elected, local political subdivisions in Louisiana. BESE is not the supervisor of school boards in Louisiana. BESE does not have legal supervision over school boards. Only five school boards are defendants and therefore the judge only has jurisdiction over those five. This is far from over.”
The five school systems impacted by the judge’s decision are:
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- Livingston Parish
- St. Tammany Parish
- Orleans Parish
- Vernon Parish School Board
To read the complete court ruling, CLICK HERE.
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