Groups File Briefs Against Arkansas Ten Commandments Monument Before 8th Circuit

Ten Commandments Monument
Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018.

Last week, attorneys representing individuals and atheist organizations opposed to Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument filed legal briefs with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 2015, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law authorizing a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol Building in Little Rock, and the monument was finally unveiled three years later. But almost immediately, atheist groups filed a lawsuit to remove the monument from the Capitol grounds. The case languished in federal court until a judge ruled against the monument earlier this year.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the Ten Commandments monument on the State Capitol grounds. Last week, attorneys for the Satanic Temple, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Humanist Association, the ACLU, and others filed legal briefs arguing the monument is unconstitutional and should be removed.

But as Family Council pointed out in an amicus brief filed over the summer, the district court in Little Rock went against U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it ruled against the monument earlier this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court reviews monuments like Arkansas’ in light of their longstanding history and tradition. Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

That’s why the Ten Commandments have traditionally appeared in artwork at public buildings across America.

Arkansas’ monument commemorates that same historical and cultural legacy. It’s also identical to a monument the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the Texas Capitol Building in 2005. With all of that in mind, we believe our federal courts will ultimately let Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument remain on the State Capitol grounds.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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8th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments in Ten Commandments Case

Ten Commandments Monument, ,

On September 22, a three-judge panel for the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case against an Arkansas law allowing posters of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools and public buildings.

Last year, lawmakers passed Act 573 of 2025 by Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) requiring privately-funded copies of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools and other public buildings in Arkansas. The measure received strong support from the state legislature.

But lawyers from the ACLU and a group of atheist organizations sued to block Act 573 in court.

The federal judge presiding over the case issued decisions claiming the Ten Commandments posters would pressure children “to observe, meditate on, venerate, and follow the State’s favored religious text, and to suppress expression of their own religious beliefs and backgrounds at school.”

However, Arkansas has appealed to the 8th Circuit. Last week, the Arkansas Attorney General’s office asked the appeals court to reverse the district court’s decision and let Arkansans place posters of the Ten Commandments in public schools and buildings as Act 573 allows.

The Attorney General’s office said the 8th Circuit should uphold Act 573, because “the district court’s analysis is flawed across the board.”

The Attorney General’s office noted that the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether displays like the Ten Commandments posters are constitutional based on their longstanding history and tradition.

Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states are free to honor and recognize documents or symbols that are important to our nation’s history — like the Ten Commandments or the national motto. Courts have also ruled that public school students are free to study religious texts like the Bible academically.

This year the 5th Circuit has been favorable to laws placing the Ten Commandments in school classrooms in Texas and Louisiana. The judges from the 5th Circuit pointed out that “no child is required to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin.”

With all of this in mind, we believe our federal courts ultimately will uphold Act 573 as constitutional.

You can listen to oral arguments over Act 573 below.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Family Council Files Amicus Brief Defending Ten Commandments Monument in Federal Court

Ten Commandments Monument,
Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018.

On Wednesday, Family Council filed an amicus brief in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals defending Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments.

In 2015, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law authorizing a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol Building in Little Rock, and the monument was finally unveiled three years later. But almost immediately, atheist groups filed a lawsuit to remove the monument from the Capitol grounds. The case languished in federal court until a judge ruled against the monument earlier this year.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the Ten Commandments monument on the State Capitol grounds. On Wednesday, attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom representing Family Council filed an amicus brief defending the monument as well.

The amicus brief identifies a basic flaw in the lawsuit against the monument: Citizens who disagree with religion can’t march into federal court and demand any hint of religion be torn down. And the brief points out how the district court in Little Rock went against U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it ruled that anti-religion activists could demand religion be scrubbed from the public square.

The U.S. Supreme Court reviews monuments like Arkansas’ in light of their longstanding history and tradition. Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

That’s why the Ten Commandments traditionally have appeared in artwork at public buildings across America.

Arkansas’ monument commemorates that same historical and cultural legacy. It’s also identical to a monument the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the Texas Capitol Building in 2005. With all of that in mind, we believe our federal courts will ultimately let the Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument stand proudly on the Capitol grounds.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE