Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state's public school classrooms is unconstitutional.
The ruling Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state, and that the poster-sized displays would isolate students — especially those who are not Christian.
The mandate has been touted by Republicans, including President Donald Trump, and marks one of the latest pushes by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms. Backers of the law argue the Ten Commandments belong in classrooms because they are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law.
The plaintiffs' attorneys and Louisiana disagreed on whether the appeals court's decision applied to every public school district in the state or only the districts party to the lawsuit.
'All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution,' said Liz Hayes, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs.
The appeals court's rulings 'interpret the law for all of Louisiana,' Hayes added. "Thus, all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.'
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she disagreed and believed the ruling only applied to school districts in the five parishes that were party to the lawsuit and that she would seek to appeal the ruling.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' order stems from a lawsuit filed last year by parents of Louisiana school children from various religious backgrounds, who said the law violates First Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion.
The mandate was signed into law last June by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry.
The court's ruling backs an order issued last fall by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who declared the mandate unconstitutional and ordered state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision.
Law experts have long said they expect the Louisiana case to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, testing the conservative court on the issue of religion and government.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion.' The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose.
In 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin.
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Telegraph
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Iranian state media use Lego to demonstrate attacks on Israel
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an hour ago
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Iran and Israel exchange strikes after Iran rules out nuclear talks while under attack
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Telegraph
an hour ago
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Kyiv mayor tells Trump: Come and see my bombed-out city
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They fly much higher. And sometimes it's very difficult to identify the drones,' he says. The latest Gerans can piggy-back on Ukrainian internet and mobile network systems, making it much harder to detect and spoof them with electronic warfare countermeasures. 'You question why [we need] the United States,' the mayor says. 'Right now we need the defensive weapons, because we are defending our territorial integrity and our independence. 'My first job, many, many, many years ago, before I started my sports club era, was working as a tour guide in my home town. And I will be very happy to make an excursion for Trump.' Getting the attention of the White House is a challenge, one made all the more difficult by the launch of Israel's war against Iran and its nuclear programme. Some 20,000 anti-drone missiles destined for Ukraine were recently transferred to the Middle East. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, announced that from next year the US will no longer purchase new arms for Ukraine. Mr Trump often appears ringside at the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hugging and posing for pictures with the blood-slicked winners. Could Mr Klitschko, who was known as Dr Ironfist in the ring, appeal to him this way? 'We actually fought in Taj Mahal Palace,' says the mayor, referring to a 2002 bout against Ray Mercer at the president's now-closed casino resort in Atlantic City. The fight, like 45 of his 47, ended in victory for Mr Klitschko, during a period of almost total dominance of the heavyweight division, alongside his brother, Vladimir. 'Trump was in the first row, I guess,' he says. 'And we have good discussion, good communication. I hope it's very soon I have a chance to talk personally to Trump and give him lots of arguments.' In the June 8 barrage, a headquarters of the US defence giant Boeing was struck, along with a building used to process British visas until late last year. 'It is not possible to keep representatives from any country safe,' Mr Klitschko says. Flags, drone parts and a traditional Ukrainian mace adorn the mayor's office. Asked for his favourite memento, Mr Klitschko walks behind his desk and pulls out a photograph of his son, Maxim, as a seven-year-old boy. Then he shows a picture on his phone of himself standing by the side of a much taller man. This is Maxim at 7ft 5in , fully grown and, at the age of 20, a professional basketball player with AS Monaco. 'He makes us look small,' says Mr Klitschko with a smile. 'We hope he will join the NBA.' In Ukraine, debate rages over whether to lower the age of conscription, from 25 to 18, amid growing shortages of manpower. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, has resisted US pressure in favour of a reduction. Cautiously, Mr Klitschko opens a gap between himself and the commander-in-chief. 'If you go to the street and see, from 10 workers, you see seven women and three men,' he says. 'And in other cities the number of men is much smaller.' 'The age of mobilisation is not our responsibility, it's a decision of government, but we have right now a huge deficit of human resources, and, if possible, pretty soon, the central government can make this decision.' Does he think it would be right? Mr Klitschko says 'if we don't have another source' of men it may 'have to be', emphasising each word percussively. For years, Mr Klitschko and Mr Zelensky have been at each other's throats. When he was a comedian, the president played a 'translator' to the mayor in one long-running skit, turning Mr Klitschko's incomprehensible blithering and raspberries – played by an actor – into full sentences. The president appeared to recall the sketch when, in February, he responded to Mr Klitschko's suggestion that Ukraine might temporarily exchange the four regions occupied by Russia for peace. 'I know he's a great athlete,' Mr Zelensky said. 'But I didn't know he was a great speaker.' In the president's eyes, Mr Klitschko has allowed corruption to flourish, doing little to stem the 'Kyiv system' of kickbacks, elite contractors and backroom deals. The national anti-corruption bureau has recently arrested a string of the mayor's subordinates in city hall, with many cases focused on the sale of land permits. To Mr Klitschko, the president is an authoritarian intent on edging him out of power as he fears a rival with international clout. He accuses the president of undermining mayors from opposition parties and replacing them with allies under the guise of separate military administrations, such as that established in Kyiv. In the last couple of years, he says, the prosecutor's office has 'opened 1,500 criminal cases' against his administration. 'Maybe you can take [from this], that the prosecutor's office, police is working pretty well.' But opening criminal cases is 'very, very easy. How many go to court? Just eight'. The focus on corruption is because the 'whole media is in one hand' he claims and 'because a lot of politicians make a huge mistake... preparing for an election' after the war is over. 'Kyiv is one of the largest cities not just in Ukraine but also in Eastern Europe,' he says, adding that Mr Zelensky wants to 'control Kyiv [and] I'm not a member of the president's party'. Critics in the president's office would reply that Mr Klitschko is himself not immune to political manoeuvring. Ending the interview, the former boxer pokes his head back through the door to apologise for his English. 'I don't get much opportunity to practice any more,' says the one-time Los Angeles resident, now never dressed in anything but khaki. Then he is gone, with battles to be fought on all fronts.
