Louisiana

Louisiana public schools will learn by Nov. 15 if they must post Ten Commandments

Published

1 year ago

October 21, 2024

Louisiana public schools will learn by Nov. 15 if they must post Ten Commandments

Louisiana public schools will soon learn whether they must comply with a new law requiring them to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom after a federal judge said Monday he would issue a ruling on the contested law by Nov. 15.

Lawyers for parents who sued to block the law from taking effect argued in U.S. District Court on Monday that the law violates students’ religious freedom and would cause irreparable harm if schools put up the posters by Jan. 1, as required by the new law. Attorneys for the state countered that the legal challenge was premature because schools have not yet posted the commandments, which they argued could be presented in ways that wouldn’t run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

The five parishes where the plaintiffs’ children attend school — East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon — previously agreed to wait until after Nov. 15 to post up the signs. On Monday, Judge John deGravelles said he would issue a ruling no later than that date on plaintiffs’ motion to block the law.

“The ball is now officially in my court,” deGravelles said after nearly six hours of arguments in his Baton Rouge courtroom Monday.

Under Louisiana’s new law, Act 676, public K-12 schools and colleges must exhibit the Ten Commandments in every classroom on posters measuring at least 11 by 14 inches in “large, easily readable font.” The law dictates the wording that must be displayed, including “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and requires schools to post an accompanying statement explaining that some early American textbooks featured the Ten Commandments.

Just days after Gov. Jeff Landry signed the law in June, a group of parents of different faiths filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the law from taking effect. The nine families, who are represented by several civil liberties groups, argue that the law unconstitutionally imposes religious beliefs on their children and usurps the parents’ authority to direct their children’s religious education.

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and at Monday’s hearing, the state’s attorneys said the court could not rule on the constitutionality of “imaginary displays” that have not yet gone up in schools.

“We think it’s premature,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told reporters after Monday’s hearing. “What the posters say, where they are posted, when they are posted — all of that matters for legal purposes.”

But the plaintiffs’ attorneys said that if public schools are allowed to display the version of the Ten Commandments dictated by the law, it would put parents who don’t want their children exposed to the biblical text in school in an “impossible situation.” Parents would have to decide whether to send their children to schools with the displays or keep that at home in violation of the state’s truancy laws.

“It would be incredibly difficult,” said Rev. Darcy Roake, a plaintiff who is an ordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist Church and the parent of a child who attends a New Orleans charter school.

“There would be some decisions that not only myself but other parents in the public school system would have to make,” Roake told reporters.

At issue in the case is whether the law violates the First Amendment, which forbids the government from “establishing” a state religion and protects citizens’ right to freely practice their chosen religion.

In a 1980 case called Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court ruled that a Kentucky law requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments ran afoul of the First Amendment because its purpose was “plainly religious in nature.” However, that ruling relied on a standard that the court scrapped in a 2022 case called Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which upheld a high school football coach’s right to pray on the field.

In its Kennedy decision, the court adopted a new First Amendment test: Is the law consistent with the country’s history and traditions?

As a result, much of Monday’s hearing centered on a report produced for the plaintiffs that delves into the history of the Ten Commandments in American public education, law and government. The report concludes that there is no tradition of public schools displaying the commandments, and no evidence that the nation’s founders were heavily influenced by the commandments.

“It’s more or less a misnomer that the Ten Commandments underlie American law,” the report’s author, Steven Green, testified in court Monday.

Attorneys for the state have asked the judge to exclude the report as evidence in the case, which they argue is unreliable. On Monday, they sought to discredit Green, who is a professor of law and religious studies at Willamette University in Oregon.

The defense argued that Green is biased because he previously worked for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the groups representing the plaintiffs. They also challenged his methodology and conclusions, including that the Ten Commandments did not play a prominent role in American education in the past.

“It is entirely subjective,” one of the state attorneys said Monday.

Judge deGravelles, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, appeared unswayed by that argument.

“Tell me one historian who doesn’t do that,” he said.

The plaintiffs, all of whom have children in Louisiana public schools, identify as Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and non-religious.

They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. The law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as pro bono counsel.

The complaint names as defendants state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, members of the state board of education and the districts where the plaintiffs’ children attend school.

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Louisiana

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

Published

9 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

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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Louisiana

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

The children of a disgraced Louisiana mayor told cops that they both caught their mom fooling around with a 16-year-old boy at a boozy pool party, according to video played at her rape trial.

Misty Roberts, the 43-year-old former head of DeRidder, Louisiana — population 9,8000 — faces a charge of third-degree rape over the 2024 incident.

Roberts’ son told investigators in an interview played for jurors that he saw his mom having sex with his pal through a crack in a window.

Misty Roberts is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy in 2024.

But, when asked about his recollection, he demurred — telling the court he wasn’t exactly sure what he saw that night, according to KPLC.

The jury also reviewed pictures from the party, which showed kids holding drinks as well as a photograph of Roberts and the victim that prosecutors described as “lewd.”

That picture showed Roberts at the party in her bikini, with the teen victim looking up at her smiling.

Roberts’ son texted his mom that night, incredulous about what was happening, and told her that his sister was crying, according to messages presented by prosecutors.

“He is seventeen,” the son texted Roberts.

The boy was later confirmed to be 16 years old, according to KPLC.

Roberts’ daughter also took the stand while prosecutors played her interview with detectives, in which she said she saw her mom and the boy “on top of each other” that night.

The former mayor’s nephew also admitted he tried to sneak a peek — using his phone to try and get a peek at what was going on in the room. He testified that he wasn’t sure if he hit “record” — but if he did said he never sent it to anybody.

Roberts was in her second term as mayor when she resigned. 7 KPLC

None of the three witnesses who testified said they saw the “private parts” of Roberts and the victim. The teen boy, they noted though, was shirtless.

After the alleged tryst, the victim’s mother texted Roberts to ensure that she was not pregnant, to which she replied she was on birth control. Roberts shared a screenshot of that message to a group chat with her friends, who urged her to take Plan B.

A DoorDash driver testified that he delivered an emergency contraceptive to Roberts’ house, which he recognized from trick-or-treating with his children there.

In other texts shown in court, Roberts asked her son what kind of alcohol her son and other kids wanted for the party.

Days after police launched their investigation into the alleged crime, Roberts resigned as mayor of DeRidder, a city of just under 10,000 people about 20 miles east of the Texas border.

Roberts was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Feb. 28, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 28, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

06-20-35-54-65, Powerball: 10, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

8-3-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

5-4-7-5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

9-9-1-3-0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Easy 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

04-17-21-27-33

Check Easy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

08-10-15-21-22-33

Check Lotto 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.

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