Federal appeals court allows Louisiana to display Ten Commandments Full Fifth Circuit rules that state can display passive religious symbols in public schools

WASHINGTON – The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today allowed the State of Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms. In Roake v. Brumley, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Louisiana after it passed a law requiring public schools to display small posters including the Ten Commandments that acknowledge the Commandments’ influence on American law and history. A federal district court blocked the law, and three judges on the Fifth Circuit left that ruling in place. But last fall, the full Fifth Circuit agreed to rehear the case “en banc,” meaning in front of all active judges on the court. Louisiana is represented by Becket, Attorney General Liz Murrill, and Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga. 

“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life,” said Joseph Davis, senior counsel at Becket and an attorney representing Louisiana. “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution. We’re glad the Fifth Circuit has allowed Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.”

Religious symbols have been a fixture of American public life since before the Founding. Just after declaring Independence, the Continental Congress tasked Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,and John Adams with designing a national seal. Though the Great Seal eventually adopted a different design, this committee proposed overtly religious designs drawn from the Hebrew Bible. Over the centuries, many state and local governments have followed the Founders’ lead by including religious elements in their flags, seals, and buildings to commemorate history and culture and to acknowledge the beliefs of their citizens. Among the most enduring of these religious symbols is the Ten Commandments, which is even featured prominently on the walls of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2024, Louisiana passed a law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The displays must contain a context statement explaining the history of the Commandments in American public education, and schools have flexibility in designing them. For example, schools may choose to incorporate the Commandments alongside other historical documents, like the Declaration of Independence and the Mayflower Compact. And the displays Louisiana is considering in practice feature the Commandments in context, reflecting their role in American laws and history. But before any actual displays ever appeared in any classroom, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Louisiana, claiming the displays would harm schoolchildren by forcing them to be in the presence of religious messages. 

“America has a time-honored tradition of recognizing faith in the public square,” said Davis. “The Fifth Circuit rightly refused to strike down Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law before a single classroom display even appeared.”

The ACLU has 90 days to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.