Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Wednesday that the state plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools violates the First Amendment.
“We think that the law is constitutional and we illustrated that in numerous ways in the briefing that we submitted to the judge,” Murrill told Newsmax’s “National Report.” “But, quite frankly, we did not expect a different result at this level from this particular court. So I’m glad that we got the ruling and now we can take it up on appeal. So that’s what we’re doing. We expect to file a stay motion today.”
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles said the law clashed with Supreme Court precedent, and violated the religious rights of those opposed to the Ten Commandments’ display.
DeGravelles, an Obama appointee, also found the law was coercive because, with children expected to attend school at least 177 days each year, the display could pressure them into adopting the state’s preferred religious text.
Asked how the state law did not violate First Amendment protections, Murrill said it came down to the “way the law is written.”
“The law provides that the Ten Commandments are to be posted in a historical context, with the presence of other contextual documents — that does comply with Supreme Court precedent,” she said. “So, we disagree with the judge’s analysis and the ACLU’s comments.”
