NEW ORLEANS (CN) - A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Friday that a Louisiana law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms statewide is unconstitutional.

Citing testimony heard by a lower court last October, the panel found that not only do the Ten Commandments not have a history in school classrooms, the message in posting them would be unmistakably religious.

"Parts of the Ten Commandments include basic principles regarding criminal conduct that are part of a civilized society, such as the prohibition against murder," U.S. Circuit Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, an appointee of Joe Biden, said in the panel's ruling.

"However," Ramirez continued, "they come from religious texts and include commandments that have clear religious import, such as requiring worship of one God and keeping the Sabbath holy."

The panel went on to note that enforcement of the separation of church and state is particularly important in secondary school classrooms to protect children from potential religious indoctrination.

The ruling comes as a triumph for civil liberties groups, religious leaders, teachers and parents of children in Louisiana public schools, especially those who are not Christian.  

The groups and parents brought a lawsuit challenging the law a year ago this month, a week after the mandate was signed into law by Republican Governor Jeff Landry.

In their lawsuit, the groups argue that putting the Ten Commandments in schools would be a clear violation of the separation of church and state.

The state said its decision in implementing the law was based in part on the commandment's historical importance in the foundations of the United States.

"This is a resounding victory for the separation of church and state and public education," Heather Weaver, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, said in a statement.

"With today's ruling, the Fifth Circuit has held Louisiana accountable to a core constitutional promise: Public schools are not Sunday schools, and they must welcome all students, regardless of faith," Weaver said.

The decision upholds a November ruling from U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana in which the Barack Obama appointee said the law amounted to coercion.

In their Friday ruling, the panel pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Stone v. Graham, which overturned a similar Kentucky law. The panel held that Louisiana's HB 71 violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As the court explained, Stone remains good law that is binding on lower courts and "under Stone, H.B. 71 is plainly unconstitutional."

U.S. District Judge James L. Dennis issued a concurring opinion alongside Ramirez's, emphasizing that Louisiana's argument - which aligned with Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch's dissent in Stone - does not overrule Stone.

"And as a court of appeals, we are not free to adopt the views of dissenting justices over those of the court's majority," the Bill Clinton appointee wrote.

Liz Hayes, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement that "All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution."

She added that all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she disagreed with Friday's ruling and believes it only applies to school districts in the five parishes that were party to the lawsuit. She said she will appeal.

Ramirez and Dennis were joined on the panel by U.S. Circuit Judge Catharina Haynes, a George W. Bush appointee.

Source: Courthouse News Service