Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana Ten Commandments Law, Calling It Coercive

Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana Ten Commandments Law, Calling It Coercive

A federal judge in Baton Rouge has blocked Louisiana from requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, ruling that the mandate violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles granted a preliminary injunction on November 12, 2024, in Roake v. Brumley, siding with parents and civil liberties groups who argued that the law, signed by Gov. Jeff Landry in June, amounted to unconstitutional religious coercion. The law, H.B. 71, required schools to post the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font" in every classroom, from kindergarten through public universities. Louisiana was the first state to pass such a requirement after the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which reshaped Establishment Clause analysis.

DeGravelles, an appointee of President Barack Obama, found that the displays were "religious in nature" and that the law's stated secular purposes did not overcome its predominantly religious character. The ruling halts enforcement while the case proceeds. In a 2023 decision, Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court struck down a similar Kentucky law, and the judge reasoned that the Louisiana statute shared the same constitutional defect.

The case has become a cultural flashpoint, with supporters framing the displays as a historical and moral foundation and opponents calling them a government endorsement of one faith. The ruling is likely to be appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which has leaned conservative on religious liberty questions, and the dispute could ultimately return to the Supreme Court as it reconsiders the boundaries of church-state separation.

Primary sources: Roake v. Brumley docket (CourtListener), preliminary injunction order