Roake v. Brumley
Case Snapshot
A new Louisiana law requires state public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Schools have broad flexibility in designing the displays, and no public funds are needed for their installation. This kind of passive religious symbolism in the public square has been a part of American life for centuries, appearing in everything from state seals and flags to our national monuments and currency. However, the ACLU has sued to block Louisiana’s law in federal court. Becket has joined Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga in defending Louisiana’s right to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.
Status
On November 12, 2024, a federal judge temporarily blocked Louisiana’s law. With Becket’s help, the State quickly appealed to the Fifth Circuit, arguing that the law aligns with America’s tradition of permitting passive religious imagery in public spaces. The Fifth Circuit is scheduled to hear argument in the case on January 23, 2025.
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Case Summary
America’s tradition of religious symbols in the public square
Religious symbols have been a fixture of American public life since before the founding. Just after declaring independence, the Continental Congress tasked Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams with designing a national seal. Both Franklin and Jefferson proposed overtly religious designs drawn from the Hebrew Bible: Franklin’s featured Moses causing the Red Sea to overwhelm Pharaoh, and Jefferson’s depicted the Israelites guided by a cloud and a pillar of fire. While the Great Seal eventually adopted a different design, it still includes religious imagery—an eye of Providence above the Latin phrase “He (God) has favored our undertakings.”
Over the centuries, many state and local governments have followed the Founders’ lead by including religious elements in their flags, seals, and buildings to commemorate history and culture and to acknowledge the beliefs that motivated their settlers. Among the most enduring of these religious symbols is the Ten Commandments, which is even featured prominently on the walls of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law
Louisiana recently passed H.B. 71, which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms by January 1, 2025. The displays must contain a specific context statement explaining the history of the Commandments in American public education, and schools have flexibility in how to design them. For example, schools may choose to incorporate the Ten Commandments alongside other historical documents, like the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact, and the Northwest Ordinance. No school board is required to spend its funds to purchase the displays; they must instead accept private donations or donated displays.
Schools can also be even more creative in implementing the law. For example, mockups of potential displays show how the Ten Commandments can be used to draw comparisons between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Moses, explain the structure of the House of Representatives, or explore important Supreme Court cases.
Courts shall not stop Louisiana from displaying religious symbols
Just five days after the governor signed H.B. 71 into law—and before any actual displays ever appeared in any classroom—the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Louisiana in federal district court. They claim the displays will harm schoolchildren by forcing them to be in the presence of religious messages in public school classrooms. On November 12, 2024, a federal judge agreed with the ACLU and temporarily put Louisiana’s law on hold.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga are defending Louisiana against the ACLU lawsuit. With Becket’s help, on November 15, 2024, Louisiana filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Louisiana argues that the ACLU’s lawsuit is premature and should be dismissed because no displays have been installed. The appeal also argues that Louisiana is following a long national tradition of displaying passive religious symbols within the public view.
Indeed, this case is very similar to atheist activist challenges to “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins. Becket was able to help beat challenges to the Pledge and Motto. Courts should reject this lawsuit just as they rejected those ones.
On January 23, 2025, the Fifth Circuit will hear argument in the case.
Importance to Religious Liberty:
Public square: Religion is a natural part of human culture and should not be scrubbed from the public square.