Van Orden v. Perry
Van Orden sued the State of Texas in federal court, requesting the removal from the grounds of the state capitol a granite monument in which the Ten Commandments are etched. Van Orden alleged that the monument, because of its content and location, violates the First Amendment prohibition against a state establishment of religion. The district court ruled in favor of the state. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, finding no First Amendment violation because the state had a secular purpose for allowing the monument to be erected on the grounds of the state capitol, and because a reasonable viewer touring the capitol grounds, informed of the history and placement of the monument, would not conclude that the state was endorsing the religious rather than the secular message of the Ten Commandments.
Question Presented:
Whether a large monument, 6 feet high and 3 feet wide, presenting the Ten Commandments, located on government property between the Texas State Capitol and
the Texas Supreme Court, is an impermissible establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment.
