Appeals Court Allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law to Take Effect

The court didn’t address whether the law was constitutional, but instead said the case was not ready to be litigated.

A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024. AP Photo/John Bazemore, File

An appeals court on Feb. 20 overturned previous rulings that struck down Louisiana’s law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms.

That law was passed in 2024, prompting a lawsuit by a group of parents who said it violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. Among other objections, the plaintiffs said the law “unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance.”