Dier v. Landry
Case Snapshot
A new Louisiana law requires state public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Schools have broad flexibility in designing the displays, and no public funds are needed for their installation. This kind of passive religious symbolism in the public square has been a part of American life for centuries, appearing in everything from state seals and flags to our national monuments and currency. However, a teacher recently sued to block Louisiana’s law in federal court. Becket, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, and Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga are defending Louisiana’s right to display the Ten Commandments in its public-school classrooms.
Status
On October 8, 2024, Louisiana asked the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit. Becket is helping Louisiana defend its Ten Commandments displays, arguing that the state law aligns with America’s tradition of permitting passive religious imagery in public spaces.
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Case Summary
America’s tradition of religious symbols in the public square
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. Both Franklin and Jefferson proposed overtly religious designs drawn from the Hebrew Bible: Franklin’s featured Moses causing the Red Sea to overwhelm Pharaoh, and Jefferson’s depicted the Israelites guided by a cloud and a pillar of fire. While the Great Seal eventually adopted a different design, it still includes religious imagery—an eye of Providence above the Latin phrase “He [God] has favored our undertakings.”
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.
Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law
Louisiana recently passed H.B. 71, which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms by January 1, 2025. The displays must contain a specific context statement explaining the history of the Commandments in American public education, and schools have flexibility in how to design them. For example, schools may choose to incorporate the Ten Commandments alongside other historical documents, like the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact, and the Northwest Ordinance. No school board is required to spend its funds to purchase the displays; they must instead accept private donations or donated displays.
Schools can also be even more creative in implementing the law. For example, mockups of potential displays show how the Ten Commandments can be used to draw comparisons between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Moses, explain the structure of the House of Representatives, or explore important Supreme Court cases.
Courts shall not rid Louisiana of religious symbols
Soon after the governor signed H.B. 71 into law—and before any actual displays ever appeared in any classroom—a teacher in New Orleans filed a lawsuit against Louisiana in federal district court. He claims the displays are religiously “coercive” in violation of the First Amendment.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga, and Becket are working together to defend Louisiana’s law. The teacher’s lawsuit is the second attempt to stop Louisiana from following our nation’s long tradition of passively displaying religious symbols within the public view. The other lawsuit, filed by the ACLU, is scheduled to be heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on January 23, 2025.
Both cases are similar to atheist activist challenges to “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins. Becket was able to help beat challenges to the Pledge and Motto. Courts should reject this lawsuit just as they rejected those ones.
Importance to Religious Liberty:
- Public square: Religion is a natural part of human culture and should not be scrubbed from the public square.