News Release
For Immediate Release: 7.23.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Court Asked to Reverse Decision Saying Ten Commandments Monument at the Arkansas Capitol Must Come Down
District Court Order distorts Supreme Court precedent establishing that displays of the Ten Commandments are constitutional.
St. Louis, MO—Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and First Liberty Institute asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to reverse a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas that ignored Supreme Court precedent and erroneously concluded that a Ten Commandments monument on state capitol grounds is unconstitutional and must come down. The decision is from a lawsuit filed by The Satanic Temple, Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Humanist Association, and the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers challenging the monument.
“This question has been settled by the Supreme Court–displays that are part of the history and tradition of America, like the Ten Commandments, are presumed to be Constitutional,” said Roger Byron, Senior Counsel at First Liberty. “The District Court’s opinion tosses aside the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy as a mere suggestion. We are grateful to Attorney General Griffin and his Office for their vigorous defense of the Ten Commandments monument and the Constitution.”
In 2015 the Arkansas State Legislature authorized the placement of the monument on the Capitol grounds. Less than 24 hours after it was erected in 2017, the privately-donated monument was destroyed when a man ran over it with his pickup truck. The replacement monument was placed in 2018.
According to the brief filed yesterday, “Permanent Ten Commandments monuments are part of a longstanding national tradition of acknowledging the Commandments’ historical influence on American law. The Supreme Court and this Court have held materially similar monuments are constitutional, and the Display Act drew from those precedents. Yet the district court improperly distinguished those cases . . . . Properly applied, that test asks whether the Display Act and monument resemble the coercive hallmarks of a religious establishment. They don’t, so there’s no Establishment Clause problem.”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
