The Ultra-Conservative 5th Circuit Court Will Reconsider Louisiana's 10 Commandments Law It Initially Struck Down
"There’s an obvious Christian Nationalist agenda in this country to inject their narrow version of Christianity into every part of public life..."
There’s an obvious agenda by Christian Nationalists in this country to inject their narrow version of Christianity into every part of public life, but especially our kids’ schools. However, their schemes have been stifled by resistance on the local level. In Texas, resistors stifled the implementation of school chaplains in public schools by sparking public outrage against the initiative, leading to the 25 largest school districts in the state rejecting the chaplain measure. In Oklahoma, a lawsuit blocked a Catholic Charter school from using public funds, leading to the organizers of the proposed school scrapping their plans altogether, and instead, settling on creating a private online academy.
Louisiana passed a bill last year to force public schools to put a legislature-approved version of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. However, two lawsuits that challenged the constitutionality of the law halted the rollout. Rev. Roake V. Brumley, a lawsuit brought forth by nine families of various faiths, blocked the implementation of the law in 5 parishes: East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon. The law was ruled as unconstitutional by a unanimous 3-judge panel on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 20th, 2025.
But things have changed.
The state of Louisiana petitioned for a rehearing en banc—meaning, all seventeen active 5th Circuit judges will review the prior ruling. The 5th Circuit obliged, meaning, they could overturn the original unanimous decision.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is defending the case, was ecstatic at the news. She said in a statement, “Glad to see the Fifth Circuit is taking this en banc… Looking forward to those arguments in court.”
Governor Jeff Landry is likely especially happy about this news. He said in the summer of 2024, “I can’t wait to be sued” after the bill was signed into law.
Their giddiness is likely because they feel as though the Supreme Court will be on their side if this case made its way to the higher court. They are likely right, as the Supreme Court, under the tenure of Chief Justice John Roberts, has ruled in the favor of religious organizations and causes over 80% of the time. In fact, the Supreme Court, which has a far-right majority, has been working overtime to erode the separation of church and state little by little, often on the flimsiest of reasonings.
The en banc hearing could potentially work in the state’s favor as well. The 5th Circuit (which has seventeen active judges and 9 senior judges) is the most conservative court in the nation and according to Democracy Docket, has made numerous anti-democratic rulings in recent years. 75% of the full 26-judge panel is comprised of Republican-appointed judges—6 appointed by Trump—and they often appear to act more like partisan conservative activists in their rulings, instead of fairly calling “balls” and “strikes” like their judicial appointments dictate.
If the 5th Circuit rules in Louisiana’s favor and overturns the original ruling, this will have far-reaching consequences. Other states will follow suit, and the ruling will further embolden far-right organizations seeking to tear down the wall between church and state. Texas and Arkansas have already recently passed their own Ten Commandments laws. In Arkansas, the law was halted in 4 school districts. This came after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks, appointee of former President Barack Obama. Brooks said in his 35-page ruling, “Why would Arkansas pass an obviously unconstitutional law? Most likely because the state is part of a coordinated strategy among several states to inject Christian religious doctrine into public-school classrooms.”
Brooks isn’t wrong, as much of the attempts to inject religion into schools, as well as all of the anti-trans panic, is being led by a handful of dark money groups; some of which were involved in the overturning of Roe V. Wade. One group involved in the erosion of the church-state wall is Alliance Defending Freedom.
According to Newsweek: “At least a dozen other states have considered similar proposals this year, including: Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia and South Carolina. Other states, like Idaho and Kentucky, have introduced Bible reading and text about ‘God We Trust’ but not the Ten Commandments as a specific requirement.”
The 9 families involved in Roake V. Brumley are represented by: Freedom From Religion Foundation, the ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. The plaintiffs released a joint statement:
“The panel’s unanimous ruling last June was well reasoned and correctly followed binding Supreme Court precedent. We believe there is no reason to revisit it. Nevertheless, we look forward to presenting our clients’ case to the entire court of appeals, and we remain confident that the constitutional values and principles at the heart of the First Amendment, which guarantee religious freedom for all students and families, will prevail in the end. We emphasize that the district court’s preliminary injunction order in the Roake case — where the court found that this law is facially unconstitutional — is not disturbed by the 5th Circuit’s decision to rehear the appeal.”
No date for oral arguments has been set as of this writing.
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