Representing the Rockwall County Commissioners Court, First Liberty Institute sent a letter to the Freedom from Religion Foundation (“FFRF”) affirming that a permanent monument of the Ten Commandments placed on the grounds of the Rockwall County Courthouse is constitutional. The letter responds to claims made by FFRF in correspondence to Rockwall County officials.
You can read the letter here.
“Rockwall’s Ten Commandments monument benefits from the firm support of the United States Supreme Court and enjoys the full protection of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” said Garrett Bell, Associate Counsel to First Liberty. “The Ten Commandments significantly influenced America’s legal system and, therefore, reflect the best of our Nation’s history and traditions. Legally suspect diatribes from anti-religious groups should be ignored.”
Rockwall County Judge Frank New added, “My primary duty as county judge is to protect the quality of life of the people I serve. While many regions devolve into moral decay, in Rockwall County we choose to be a people that follow the rule of law. This Ten Commandments monument symbolizes that choice and is a visual reminder of the rampart on which lawlessness breaks.”
In 2019, First Liberty Institute won a case at the U.S. Supreme Court, The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, which established a presumptive lawfulness for religious symbols, displays and practices. In yet another First Liberty victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Court clarified that government practices which accord with history and reflect the understanding of the Founding Fathers are constitutional. The monument recently erected at the Rockwall County Courthouse was made possible by a private donation facilitated by the American History & Heritage Foundation (“AHHF”) to highlight American legal history.
According to the letter, “the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution takes no issue with passive, religious displays like the County’s Ten Commandments monument, which comport with ‘historical practices and understandings.’ Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent Sch. Dist., 173 F.4th 576, 593, 601 (5th Cir. 2026) (en banc) (quoting Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist., 597 U.S. 507, 535 (2022)). The Ten Commandments’ influence on Founding-era statesman and our system of governance is unmistakable, and accordingly, the instances of its memorialization on government property are innumerable. The County’s Ten Commandments monument ‘fits within [a] tradition long followed,’ Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. 565, 577 (2014), and therefore, will remain at the Rockwall County Courthouse.”
