Louisiana
Bible’s Ten Commandments are to be displayed in some Louisiana classrooms, appeals court rules
A Louisiana law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom can stand, the 17 active judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled — vacating an earlier preliminary injunction.
The court wrote that it’s too early for the judges to decide whether it would violate the Constitution to have the Ten Commandments posted in every classroom.
“An unripe challenge does not become ripe merely because a party asserts that the challenged action would be unlawful on any conceivable set of facts,” the judges wrote.
A lower court in Louisiana initially blocked the law, and a three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit had previously agreed with the lower court. The full 5th Circuit Friday, however, did not.
The decision comes as the court has considered a pair of Ten Commandments laws — one from Louisiana and one from neighboring Texas. Last month, the active judges on the 5th Circuit heard the cases from both states.
Friday’s decision pertains only to Louisiana.
“Asking us to declare — here and now, and in the abstract — that every possible H.B. 71 display would violate the Establishment Clause would require precisely what Texas forbids: the substitution of speculation for adjudication,” the court wrote, using italics and referencing what the 5th Circuit decided in a similar Texas case. “It would oblige us to hypothesize an open-ended range of possible classroom displays and then assess each under a context-sensitive standard that depends on facts not yet developed and, indeed, not yet knowable.”
The court continued: “That exercise exceeds the judicial function. It is not judging; it is guessing. And because it rests on conjecture rather than a concrete factual record, it does not cure the ripeness defect—it compounds it.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement that “don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial.”
“My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally,” Murrill said. “Louisiana public schools should follow the law.”
The plaintiffs’ legal representation — the ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and pro bono counsel Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP — said in a statement that Friday’s ruling is “extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district.”
“Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights,” they said. “But this fight isn’t over. We will continue fighting for the religious freedom of Louisiana’s families.”
ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Alanah Odoms said in a written statement that the decision is “cowardly.”
“By forcing a singular religious text onto the walls of our public schools, the Fifth Circuit has flung open the door to the religious coercion of Louisiana’s children. This law transforms the public school classroom, a place that should be safe and inclusive, into a government-sanctioned house of worship,” Odoms said.
NEWTON COUNTY, Texas. (KPLC) – A DeRidder man reported missing was found dead in the Sabine River Sunday morning, according to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.
Newton County Sheriff Colton Havard said Jordan Jamal Allen was located around 7:50 a.m. on July 12 with help from Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office, and 409 Search and Rescue.
Authorities say the body was recovered not far from where Allen went under Friday night near the U.S. 190 bridge east of Bon Wier at the Texas-Louisiana state line.
The sheriff said that Allen and a woman were said to be wading across the river Friday when the current began pulling the woman.
The sheriff said Allen tried to help her, but went under around 8:45 p.m. and wasn’t seen again. He said the woman made it back to land safely.
We will have more in this story as it develops.
Copyright 2026 KPLC. All rights reserved.
MONDAY
RED STICK FLY FISHERS PROGRAM: 7 p.m., Bluebonnet Regional Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge. Open to the public. Email Brian Roberts: roberts.brian84@gmail.com. Website: rsff.org
WEDNESDAY
FLIES & FLIGHTS: 7-9 p.m, Rally Cap Brewing, 11212 Pennywood Ave., Baton Rouge. Casual fly tying. Open to public. Email Chris Williams: thefatfingeredflytyer@gmail.com
THURSDAY
ACADIANA FLY RODDERS PROGRAM: 6 p.m., Pack and Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Open to public. Email Darin Lee: at cbrsandcdc@gmail.com. Website: acadianaflyrodders.org
FRIENDS OF NRA/SOUTHWEST LA BANQUET: 6 p.m., Riverside Bar & Grill, 3748 Louisiana 3059, Lake Charles. Call Brack Cole 337-912-1620. Email: jbcoleair@yahoo.com
ONGOING
STATEWIDE TOURNAMENT & ANGLERS RODEO/S.T.A.R.: Through Sept. 7, Coastal Conservation Association’s summer-long fishing event. Tagged redfish, coastal/offshore species categories & youth division. CCA membership required. Website: ccalouisiana.com/star
LOTTERY HUNTS
DOVE/TEAL: July 27 application deadline for dove hunt on Elbow Slough Wildlife Management Area and teal hunt on White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. Website applications only on Wildlife & Fisheries/Louisiana Outdoors License, Permits and Tags webpage. Fee $8.50. Details: dove hunt, David Hayden at dhayden@wlf.la.gov; teal hunt, Lance Ardoin at lardoin@wlf.la.gov
AROUND THE CORNER
JULY 21 — LAFAYETTE KAYAK FISHING CLUB MEETING: 6 p.m., Pack and Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Call 337-232-5854. Website: lafayettekayakfishing.com
JULY 21-22 — GULF COUNCIL SHRIMP COMMITTEE MEETING: Gulf Council office, 4107 W. Spruce St., Tampa, Florida. In conjunction with Scientific and Statistical committees. Website: gulfcouncil.org
JULY 23 — ACADIANA BUGS & BREWS: 6 p.m., Pack and Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Casual fly tying and local beers provided. Open to the public. Email Darin Lee: cbrsandcdc@gmail.com. Website: packpaddle.com
JULY 23-25 — International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo, Grand Isle Marina & Otto Candies Pavilion, Grand Isle. Website: tarponrodeo.org
JULY 24-25—BASSMASTER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: Kentucky Lake, Paris, Tennessee. Website: bassmaster.com
JULY 26 — SOUTH LOUISIANA HIGHPOWER CLUB MATCH: 8:30 a.m., Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Range, St. Landry Road, Gonzales. NRA XTC & F-Class match rifle or service rifle, 200-yard/50-rounds match course. Fee $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 juniors. $25 annual club (first match free) and Civilian Marksmanship Program membership (allows purchases from CMP). Call Mike Burke, 337-380-8120. Email: SouthLAHighPower@hotmail.com
FISHING/SHRIMPING
SHRIMP: Spring inshore season closed except for Breton/Chandeleur sounds; all outside waters open.
OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Private recreational red snapper; gray triggerfish; flounder; lane, blackfin, queen and silk snappers and wenchmen among other snapper species; all groupers except closed for goliath and Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.
CLOSED SEASONS: Greater amberjack; bluefin tuna; gag, goliath and Nassau groupers in state/federal waters. Commercial greater amberjack season closed.
LDWF UPDATES
Closed: Roads on Pomme de Terre, Richard Yancey & Bogue Chitto WMAs (flooding)
Drawdowns: Saline Lake (Natchitoches/Winn parishes through Oct. 5); Iatt Lake (Grant Parish through Oct. 5).
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