News Release
For Immediate Release: 1.22.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
District Court Urged to Vacate Old Ruling That Barred a Ten Commandments Monument from Indiana Capitol Grounds
Fraternal Order of Eagles files friend-of-the-court brief supporting the constitutionality of the monument on government property.
Indianapolis, IN—First Liberty Institute filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on behalf of The Fraternal Order of Eagles. The brief supports a motion filed by Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Attorney General Todd Rokita to vacate a 2000 court order that barred a Ten Commandments monument from the Statehouse grounds. In the motion, Governor Braun and AG Rokita explain that First Liberty’s U.S. Supreme Court win in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District overruled the law the court’s order relied on and replaced it with a history and tradition standard based on the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution. This monument replaced an older one donated by the Eagles in 1958 that had been vandalized and removed.
You can read the amicus brief here.
“This monument is part of the longstanding history and tradition of public displays that acknowledge the role the Ten Commandments have played in the development of our legal system,” said Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO and Chief Counsel for First Liberty. “Our Supreme Court wins in American Legion and Kennedy established history and tradition as the standard for church and state matters, a test the monument meets with ease.”
Beginning in the 1950s, The Fraternal Order of Eagles donated over 100 monuments inscribed with the Ten Commandments to state and local governments across the country as part of a campaign to combat juvenile delinquency. One was donated to the State of Indiana in 1958 and stood on the Statehouse lawn for over three decades until it was vandalized in 1991. The Indiana Limestone Institute provided a replacement, but it was barred from the Statehouse grounds by a court order based on the much maligned test set out in Lemon v. Kurtzman. That test subsequently was rejected by the Supreme Court in First Liberty’s victory in The American Legion, which mandated a presumptive lawfulness for established symbols, displays and practices. Then in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, another First Liberty win, the Court abrogated Lemon entirely and mandated that the Establishment Clause be understood and applied by original meaning, history and tradition.
In the brief, attorneys argue, “Since Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Supreme Court has mandated a history and tradition analysis for Establishment Clause matters, which means that ‘the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by reference to historical practices and understandings.’ The Monument fits comfortably within this rubric of history and tradition. As such, the Establishment Clause supports the Monument’s placement on the Statehouse grounds. In fact, it affords the Monument ‘a strong presumption of constitutionality.’”
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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.
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