The full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on February 20 that a challenge to Louisiana's Ten Commandments law was effectively premature. According to Associated Press, it got rid of the lower court opinion that blocked Louisiana from implementing the law.
Louisiana passed H.B. 71 in June 2024, requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms starting January 2025. However, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit with a federal district court against the state only five days later. They claimed the displays would harm children by forcing religion.
Louisiana was represented by Becket Law, state Attorney General Liz Murrill, and Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga in Roake v. Brumley. The defendant argued that the lawsuit was premature because no displays had been hung up and that the case should be rejected.
The appeals court agreed in a 12-6 decision that the lawsuit was premature because there was no reference for how it will be displayed. Therefore, the evidence and current information did not show any First Amendment violations.
A press release from Becket reveals that this decision comes after a previous 5th Circuit decision by a three judge panel left the ruling of the federal district court, which blocked the law. The circuit then agreed to rehear the case with all the judges in January 2026.
Joe Davis, an attorney at Becket, spoke on what this means.
"As a result of this decision, Louisiana is now free to comply with what its legislature has told it to do, which is to have the Ten Commandments displayed in public school classrooms across Louisiana alongside other aspects of American history and culture," says Davis.
He is pleased with the court’s decision.
"This is a really good opinion, a good result for those who are open to religious imagery in the public square," states Davis.
People and organizations on the other side of the case have an option to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. They will have 90 days to make that decision.
Davis believes there is no reason to worry.
"I'd be very optimistic about the Supreme Court agreeing with the 5th Circuit here if the case did indeed go up," states Davis.
The appeals court also heard arguments over a similar Ten Commandments law in Texas. However, this particular opinion is exclusively in the Louisiana case.
