NEW ORLEANS
A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for Louisiana to require poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, ruling it is too early to determine whether the law is unconstitutional.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 12-6 to lift a preliminary injunction on the 2024 law, allowing it to take effect while legal challenges proceed.
Judges said key questions remain unanswered—how prominently will schools display the text? Will teachers refer to it? Will other historical documents also be posted? Without those specifics, the court lacked sufficient facts “to permit judicial judgment rather than speculation.”
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, a Trump appointee, declared the law “is not just constitutional — it affirms our nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
The ruling sets the stage for a likely showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court.
By James Kisoo
