Texas Ten Commandments lawsuit goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

Ten Commandments in classrooms argument heard in federal court

A federal appeals court heard arguments today about a Texas law requiring Texas classrooms to display the Ten Commandments from the Bible. FOX 4's Steven Dial has more.

DALLAS - An appeals court is now hearing arguments over Texas and Louisiana laws that require schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Unlike some arguments where a three-judge panel rules, this was before all 17 judges on the 5th Circuit.

The backstory:

The Texas law requires the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms.

When the bill became a law, 16 families and the American Civil Liberties Union sued multiple school districts to block it.

A lower court judge ruled in favor of the families and temporarily blocked the commandments from going up in the named school districts.

What's new:

On Tuesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from both sides.

The judges were critical of points made by both attorneys.

"If the city in Louisiana decided to require the Quran and was posted with its universal precepts, including the statement, ‘Allah, no God but him,’" a judge questioned.

"Your honor, a school in Louisiana or elsewhere absolutely could post displays exactly as you outlined highlighting members in our nation’s history," said Texas Solicitor General William Peterson. 

"But with religious scripture, ‘Allah, no God but him?’" the judge asked.

"Absolutely, your honor," Peterson replied.

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The crowd attending the unveiling included supporters of the move, as well as critics who showed up to support the separation of church and state.

"How about Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham jail?" a judge asked.

"I don’t think it would prevent a post in sharing," said Attorney Jonathan Youngwood from Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett.

"He refers to Saint Paul. He refers to Thomas Aquinas. He refers to the Old Testament, the New Testament. It’s about as religious as you can get," the judge said.

"The sources he’s referring to are religious. The nature of his writings go beyond religion and make reference to religion. And that’s the difference here," Youngwood argued. 

Dig deeper:

This is not the only lawsuit over Texas’ Ten Commandments law. A separate ACLU suit mentions some North Texas school districts, including Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Rockwall, and Mansfield ISDs.

Whatever ruling comes down in this case will have implications in both Texas and Louisiana.

It’s also likely that the issue will end up at the Supreme Court.