Louisiana
Judge hears arguments to block Ten Commandments from being displayed in every Louisiana public school
A federal judge heard arguments at a hearing Monday on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.
Louisiana, a reliably Republican state in the Bible Belt, is the only state with such a requirement. Proponents argue that the measure is not solely religious, but has historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. But an expert witness brought in by the plaintiffs, argued against the legislation.
Steven Green, a legal historian and professor of law, history and religious studies at Willamette University in Oregon, testified that “there is next to no evidence” that the Ten Commandments were considered by the country’s founders while drafting the foundation of the U.S. government and legal system.
He added that the Ten Commandments were “indirectly influential at best” to the nation’s founders. Green said he based his conclusion on numerous historical documents and writings, including correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who were influential in drafting the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
Attorneys for the defendants asked the judge to strike Green’s testimony. Speaking with reporters after the hearing, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Green’s testimony was “not proper for expert testimony” and “subjective” as he “was not alive at the time that these things happened.”
U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles did not immediately issue a ruling Monday, but said he will try to reach a decision by Nov. 15. That date is of importance as an agreement was reached by the court and state in July, in which five schools specifically listed in the lawsuit will not post the commandments in classrooms before that date. The deadline to comply, Jan. 1, 2025, remains in place for schools statewide.
As the plaintiffs and defendants await a ruling on a possible preliminary injunction, a pending lawsuit challenging the new law remains.
In June, parents of Louisiana public school children, with various religious backgrounds, filed the lawsuit arguing that the legislation violates First Amendment language forbidding government establishment of religion and guaranteeing religious liberty. The ACLU, which was among the groups filing the lawsuit, said its complaint represented “parents who are rabbis, pastors, and reverends.”
Opponents say the law is an unconstitutional violation of separation of church and state and that the display of the Ten Commandments will isolate students, especially those who are not Christian.
In April, State Senator Royce Duplessis told CBS affiliate WWL-TV that he opposed the legislation.
“That’s why we have a separation of church and state,” said Duplessis, who is a Democrat. “We learned the 10 Commandments when we went to Sunday school. As I said on the Senate floor, if you want your kids to learn the Ten Commandments, you can take them to church.”
Proponents say the law is premature, as schools have not begun to hang up such posters. Attorneys for the defendants are requesting that the suit be dismissed.
State House Representative Dodie Horton is the author of the bill. In April, she defended it before the House, saying the Ten Commandments are the basis of all laws in Louisiana, WWL-TV reported.
“I hope and I pray that Louisiana is the first state to allow moral code to be placed back in the classrooms,” Horton said. “Since I was in kindergarten [at a private school], it was always on the wall. I learned there was a God, and I knew to honor him and his laws.”
Across the country, there have been conservative pushes to incorporate religion into classrooms, from Florida legislation allowing school districts to have volunteer chaplains to counsel students to Oklahoma’s top education official ordering public schools to incorporate the Bible into lessons.
The new law in Louisiana has been touted by conservatives, including former President Donald Trump.
In June, the GOP presidential candidate posted on his social media network: “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER. READ IT – HOW CAN WE, AS A NATION, GO WRONG???”
Louisiana’s legislation applies to all public school K-12 and state-funded university classrooms. It requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches where the text is the central focus and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” Each poster must also be paired with the four-paragraph context statement.
Tens of thousands of posters will likely be needed to satisfy the new law since e Louisiana has more than 1,300 public schools. Louisiana State University has nearly 1,000 classrooms at the Baton Rouge campus alone.
The mandate does not require school systems to spend public money on the posters, with Republicans saying the displays will be paid for by donations or the posters themselves will be donated by groups or organizations. Questions still remain about how the requirement will be enforced if a teacher refuses to hang up the Ten Commandments and what happens if there are not enough donations to fund the mandate.
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.
Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.
63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.
“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”
Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.
“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.
Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.
Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.
“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.
The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.
The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.
Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.
“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.
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