Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 24-30706
Case Status: On February 28, 2026 the en banc Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that Plaintiffs’ claims were not justiciable.
Center Involvement: Brief on behalf of Robertson Center
Date of Filing: November 12, 2025

On November 12, 2025, the Roberston Center filed an amicus brief in support of the state of Louisianna in Roake v. Brumley. Roake involved an Establishment Clause challenge to Louisiana’s law requiring public-school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.  A panel of the Fifth Circuit held the law unconstitutional, and the Fifth Circuit granted rehearing en banc. The Center’s brief filed proposed a two-step framework for implementing the approach to Establishment Clause analysis adopted in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. 507 (2022). In Kennedy, the Supreme Court formally abandoned the Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) test and instructed that the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by “reference to historical practices and understandings.”   The Center’s brief argues that Louisiana’s law is constitutional under that framework.

Court Filings:
24-30706 Amicus Brief