Thomas Van Orden v. Rick Perry, in His Official Capacity As Governor of Texas and Chairman, State Preservation Board, et al. (545 U.S. 677)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 27, 2005 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 545 U.S. 677 · 125 S. Ct. 2854
- Decided
- June 27, 2005
- Term
- October Term 2004
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice Scalia, Justice Kennedy, and Justice Thomas join. The question here is whether the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment allows the display of a monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments on the Texas State Capitol grounds. We hold that it does. The 22 acres surrounding the Texas State Capitol contain 17 monuments and 21 historical markers commemorating the “people, ideals, and events that compose Texan identity.” Tex. H. Con. Res. 38, 77th Leg., Reg. Sess. (2001). The monolith challenged here stands 6-feet high and 3-feet wide. It is located to the north of the Capitol building, between the Capitol and the Supreme Court building. Its primary content is the text of the Ten Commandments. An eagle grasping the American flag, an eye inside of a pyramid, and two small tablets with what appears to be an ancient script are carved above the text of the Ten Commandments. Below the text are two Stars of David and the superimposed Greek letters Chi and Rho, which represent Christ. The bottom of the monument bears the inscription “PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE AND YOUTH OF TEXAS BY THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES OF TEXAS 1961.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 21. The legislative record surrounding the State’s acceptance of the monument from the Eagles — a national social, civic, and patriotic…
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