Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has filed an appeal seeking to overturn a federal court ruling that found the Ten Commandments monument on the Arkansas Capitol grounds unconstitutional.
The appeal was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit following an April ruling by a federal district court that concluded the monument violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
The lower court’s decision has not taken effect while the appeal is pending.
In its April ruling, the district court also found the Ten Commandments Monument Display Act of 2015, known as Act 1231, and Act 274 of 2017 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Act 1231 authorized the monument’s display on Capitol grounds, while Act 274 requires legislative approval before new monuments can be erected at the Capitol.
In the appeal, Griffin and attorneys with the First Liberty Institute argue the monument serves a historical purpose by recognizing the influence of the Ten Commandments on the legal traditions of both Arkansas and the United States.
The appeal also argues the district court relied on outdated legal precedent rather than the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
That ruling directed courts to evaluate Establishment Clause cases using the nation’s historical practices and traditions, a framework the appeal contends supports the monument’s placement alongside other historical displays on the Capitol grounds.
The First Liberty Institute, which is representing Arkansas in the appeal, has previously argued several First Amendment religious liberty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
