The Fifth Circuit has vacated a lower court’s preliminary injunction that stopped Louisiana’s law requiring the 10 Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, sending the dispute back for a fuller factual record and pausing a quick judicial decision that some saw as overreaching.
The dispute centers on Louisiana House Bill 71, which directs public schools to display the 10 Commandments in every classroom. A group of parents challenged the law, arguing it violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. The case moved quickly through the courts and drew sharp attention from advocates on both sides.
At first a district court granted a preliminary injunction, blocking enforcement while the legal fight proceeded. An appellate panel affirmed that move, but the Fifth Circuit later decided to rehear the matter en banc, with all active judges reviewing the earlier decision. That full-court review produced a different outcome: the preliminary injunction was vacated.
In explaining the decision the court said, “Because the parents’ challenge turns on unresolved factual and contextual questions, equitable relief was premature, and we VACATE the preliminary injunction.” The en banc opinion stressed that deciding constitutional questions on incomplete records can lead to mistakes and overbroad remedies. The message was clear: courts should be cautious before issuing sweeping relief based on conjecture.
The opinion also criticized the earlier panel’s approach to precedent, stating, “The panel’s unduly cramped reading of Staley—limiting it to cases in which literally no aspect of a future display is known—does precisely that,” the ruling said. “Properly understood, Staley does not turn on whether some details of a future display are known, but on whether courts can evaluate constitutionality without resorting to conjecture. There, the challenged monument was known in considerable detail.” This passage pushes back on a narrow reading of prior decisions and insists context matters.
The court went on to underscore a basic procedural point: “But 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.” That line reinforces the idea that constitutional litigation needs a defined record and concrete facts, not hypotheticals. For those who favor local control and respect for traditional expressions in public life, the en banc decision felt like a correction to rushed judicial intervention.
The practical effect is that Louisiana’s mandate is not permanently cleared; rather, the path forward requires more careful fact-finding and legal briefing. The en banc court did not bless any particular classroom display, nor did it finally resolve the constitutional question. Instead, it prioritized a deliberate process before courts issue decisive, injunctive relief that affects schools statewide.
Supporters of the law argued that displaying the 10 Commandments is a historical and moral touchstone, not an aggressive establishment of religion. Opponents said mandatory displays in classrooms cross a constitutional line and compel acceptance of a religious text. The en banc ruling avoids taking sides at the merits stage while demanding a firmer factual foundation if the case proceeds.
Beyond the legal technicalities, the case highlights broader cultural tensions about religion in public spaces and the role of state legislatures in setting education policy. For conservatives who worry about judicial overreach, the decision is a reminder that process matters and that courts should avoid stepping in before the facts are sorted out. For challengers, it signals that winning on a preliminary basis requires a clearer record than what was presented initially.
Practically speaking, the litigation will likely return to lower courts with instructions to address the factual gaps identified by the Fifth Circuit. The en banc opinion runs 46 pages and lays out the court’s reasoning in detail. Interested readers can review the court’s full opinion and related filings to see how those factual and contextual questions might be developed next.
Read the 46-page ruling below.
