Louisiana Says It’s Too Soon to Sue Over Ten Commandments Law

Opponents of Louisiana’s law requiring that all public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments “jumped the gun here and filed an unripe case” an attorney for the state told the Fifth Circuit during oral arguments Thursday.

“Precedent says you need an actual encounter in order to bring” the First Amendment claim parents and students have brought, J. Benjamin Aguiñaga, Solicitor General of Louisiana, told the three-judge panel.

The state law, known as HB 71, requires schools to post the commandments alongside a context statement, with the option to include additional founding-era documents in the display. The law, which was scheduled ...