UPDATE: Appeals Court Weighs in on Louisiana Classrooms and the Ten Commandments

Louisiana's legal battle over displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms has led to two conflicting court rulings in less than a week's time.

On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a state request to temporarily halt a lower court's entire ruling that had blocked the state from displaying the Commandments. The state's loss came after a partial victory last week. 

That ruling on Friday indicated that some public school classrooms in Louisiana will be allowed to display the Ten Commandments. In that instance, the 5th Circuit had limited the scope of the lower court ruling that initially blocked Louisiana's Ten Commandments law statewide as unconstitutional.

As CBN News reported, the law, which was passed in June, required every Louisiana classroom from kindergarten to college that receives state funding, to display the Commandments "on a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches" by Jan.1.  

However, a coalition of parents supported by The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, filed a lawsuit to block the requirement.

Last week, U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles of Baton Rouge blocked the law, ruling that it was "unconstitutional on its face" and violated the First Amendment's free exercise and establishment clauses.

He also ordered state Attorney General Liz Murrill's office to "provide notice to all schools that the Act has been found unconstitutional."

State attorneys filed an emergency motion the following day with the Fifth Circuit arguing that deGravelles had overstepped his authority when he ordered all 72 school districts to be notified that he had struck down the law instead of just the five districts involved in the lawsuit. 

They also requested that deGravelles' notification requirement be paused while the appeals litigation proceeds. The 5th Circuit granted the state's motion for an "administrative stay" which pauses the judge's notification requirement. 

As a result, supporters of the Commandments effort say deGravelles' judgment is only allowed to affect the five school districts where parents officially challenged the law. The remaining 67 school districts appear to be free to post the Ten Commandments beginning January 1, 2025, as litigation continues.

Murrill celebrated the ruling on a social media post on Friday evening. "I look forward to immediately working with all of our school boards who are not involved in this lawsuit to implement the law soon," she wrote.

The state is still appealing to overturn deGravelles' full judgment that labeled the law unconstitutional. "This law, I believe, is constitutional, and we've illustrated it in numerous ways that the law is constitutional. We've shown that in our briefs by creating a number of posters," Murrill said. "Again, you don't have to like the posters. The point is you can make posters that comply with the Constitution."

The Liberty Counsel, a non-profit legal group, points out that Louisiana has "considerable grounds" for its appeal. "Recent Supreme Court precedents show that displaying the Ten Commandments is not necessarily a religious endorsement," the group contends.  

Liberty Counsel cites American Legion v. American Humanists Association in which the high court wrote that the Ten Commandments "have historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system," saying it represents a "common cultural heritage."

They add that in two other cases, Shurtleff v. City of Boston and Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the court rejected and overruled  the 1971 case of Lemon v. Kurtzman or the "Lemon Test." The high court indicated a return to a traditional First Amendment standard where courts must interpret the Establishment Clause by "reference to historical practices and understandings." 

"The Ten Commandments is a universally recognized symbol of law and has indelibly shaped the Western Legal Tradition and American government," said Liberty Counsel's Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. 

"There are more than 50 displays of the Ten Commandments inside and outside the United States Supreme Court," he added. The Ten Commandments are ubiquitous and their central role in law and government pre-date the U.S. Constitution. With this injunction narrowed to only five school districts, the Ten Commandments will be displayed in nearly all Louisiana public schools."

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***