Court Hits Pause On LA Ten Commandments Law

July 20, 2024 Christianists, Republicans

Law & Crime reports:

A controversial new law in Louisiana requiring schools to have a poster of the Ten Commandments in every classroom will not be in effect when students return next month, giving a federal judge time to weigh the constitutionality of the measure.

U.S. District Court Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana John deGravelles on Friday approved an agreement reached between the plaintiff parents and civil rights organizations challenging the constitutionality of the law and the defendants.

While the law didn’t make posting the biblical writing mandatory until Jan. 1, 2025, under the terms of the agreement, “no Defendant will post the Ten Commandments in any public-school classroom before November 15, 2024.”

The Louisiana Illuminator reports:



Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office is defending the state against the lawsuit that the parents of nine public school students have filed. In a text message, agency spokesman Lester Duhé stressed that the agreement does not reflect unfavorably on the new law.

“The law is not ‘paused,’ ‘blocked’ or ‘halted,’” Duhé wrote, in part. “At the district court’s requests, the named defendants … agreed not to take public-facing compliance measures until November 15 to allow sufficient time for briefing, oral argument, and a decision.”

Groups representing the plaintiffs include the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

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