Brace yourselves…From the inbox:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, heard oral arguments in two cases challenging state laws in Texas and Louisiana that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The cases, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District and Rev. Roake v. Brumley, araise fundamental questions about religious freedom and the separation of church and state guaranteed by the First Amendment.
These arguments come nearly a year after a unanimous three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit ruled that Louisiana’s House Bill 71 is “plainly unconstitutional,” finding it directly contradicted long-standing Supreme Court precedent. That decision was vacated when the full court agreed to rehear the case en banc. Federal courts in Texas have likewise issued multiple preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of Senate Bill 10, concluding that the law violates students’ First Amendment rights by forcing government-endorsed religious scripture on public-school children.
The plaintiffs in both states are multifaith and nonreligious families who simply want their constitutional right to decide their children’s religious education respected by the government. They want their children’s public schools to remain welcoming and inclusive for their families and students of all backgrounds.
“I send my children to public school to learn math, English, science, art, and so much more — but not to be evangelized by the state into its chosen religion,” said Rev. Jeff Sims (he/him) from Louisiana. “These religious displays send a message to my children and other students that people of some religious denominations are superior to others. This is religious favoritism and it’s not only dangerous, but runs counter to my Presbyterian values of inclusion and equality.”
“No one faith should be canonized as more holy than others. Yet Texas legislators are imposing the Ten Commandments on public-school children,” said Rabbi Mara Nathan (she/her) from Texas. “Though they are a sacred text to me and many others, the Ten Commandments has no place on the walls of public-school classrooms. Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.”
See here, here, here, and here for some background. NBC News adds some details.
And in a highly unusual development, all 17 active judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans will be present to hear the Texas case, as well as a similar lawsuit filed by parents and civil liberties groups in Louisiana against that state’s Ten Commandments law.
“These issues concern core questions involving the interaction of public education with this nation’s religious history and traditions,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in a petition in October requesting an en banc review, which is a legal proceeding where all the judges of an appellate court preside over a case. “They warrant en banc review.”
Not mentioned in Paxton’s petition is the fact that the 5th Circuit, which serves Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, is dominated by conservatives. The 12 judges nominated by Republican presidents outnumber the five Democratic appointees.
“The Fifth Circuit doesn’t take up very many cases en banc at all, and the issues presented in this case seem very straightforward to me,” Dane Ciolino, a professor at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, told New Orleans radio station WWL. “There is a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that made very clear that states cannot mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms and buildings.”
No matter the outcome, any ruling in this case is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court and will continue to fuel the national debate over whether the Ten Commandments laws violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prohibits governments from endorsing or promoting a particular religion.
[…]
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sided with the [Texas] parents in August and issued a temporary ruling against the state’s new requirement. Texas officials quickly appealed.
That case was then paired with a legal challenge to Louisiana’s first-in-the-nation requirement, signed into law in 2024, that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in November 2024 issued an order blocking the Louisiana law, calling it “facially unconstitutional.”
Yeah, that this is to be heard en banc jumped out at me, making me wonder if I’d missed the usual three-judge hearing. I don’t know what to make of that, other than there will be a shorter path to the inevitable SCOTUS appeal. The law seems to be clear here. One Republican justice on the Fifth Circuit has already ruled for the plaintiffs, in the Louisiana case. I really hope this is a straightforward matter, but one can never feel confident with the Fifth Circuit. The Chron, the Trib, NOLA.com, and the Current have more.