Federal court halts enforcement of Texas law on Ten Commandments in public schools (Religion Clause)

A federal district court halted the enforcement of a Texas law that requires the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

Judge Fred Biery, a Clinton appointee, ruled that the law violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

Referring to a 1932 movie featuring the actress Greta Garbo (p. 54), Judge Biery wrote that “ultimately, in matters of conscience, faith, beliefs and the soul, most people are Garbo-esque. They just want to be left alone, neither proselytized nor ostracized, including what occurs to their children in government run schools.”