Litigation Update: Ten Commandments in Public Schools

About this episode

The episode discusses a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit regarding the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools and its implications for First Amendment cases.

This week, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a Texas law requiring public schools to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in classrooms does not violate the First Amendment's Establishment or Free Exercise Clauses. The court explained that Stone v. Graham, which relied upon the now-defunct Lemon test to invalidate a similar Kentucky law decades ago, is no longer controlling. In the place of Lemon and its progeny, the en banc court explained, courts must ask whether a challenged law resembles a founding-era religious establishment. The court also held the challengers here failed to show the law substantially burdened their free exercise. Join us for a litigation update breaking down this ruling and what it may hold for Establishment and Free Exercise cases in the future. Featuring: Prof. Stephanie Barclay, Professor of Law and Faculty Director for the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, Georgetown University Law Center Prof. Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law (Moderator) Joe Davis, Senior Counsel, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

People in this episode

Host: Prof. Andrew Koppelman

Guests: Prof. Stephanie Barclay, Joe Davis

Topics covered

• First Amendment
• Establishment Clause
• Free Exercise Clause
• Litigation Update
• Public Schools
• Ten Commandments

Keywords

• Ten Commandments
• public schools
• First Amendment
• Establishment Clause
• Free Exercise
• litigation update
• Fifth Circuit

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Georgetown Center for the Constitution, Georgetown University Law Center, Northwestern University School of Law, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

Books & works: Stone v. Graham

Places: Texas

More episodes of FedSoc Forums

• USPTO Examination Updates and Evolving Patent Eligibility Standards · June 10, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Emerging Applications of the Congressional Review Act · June 2, 2026 · 1h 2m
• What Was an "Establishment of Religion" at the Founding? · May 28, 2026 · 52 min
• Commandeering for Conservation? · May 28, 2026 · 59 min
• How Does the First Amendment Protect Churches in Court? · May 12, 2026 · 59 min
• Originalism and State Constitutions · May 12, 2026 · 53 min