On Wednesday, Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry approved legislation requiring every public school classroom in the state to display the Ten Commandments, becoming the first state to enact such a law. Signing the bill, Landry said: “This bill mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, in public elementary, secondary, and post-education schools in the state of Louisiana. Because if you wanna respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original law giver, which was Moses.”

On this week’s Amicus Plus bonus episode, Dahlia Lithwick was joined by Mark Joseph Stern to discuss why Louisiana passed a law that is so blatantly unconstitutional on its face. Their conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Dahlia Lithwick: Mark, do you have a quick hot take on how unconstitutional this is?

Mark Joseph Stern: So this is as unconstitutional as any law can be. Let’s start with some background.

In 1980, the Supreme Court struck down a pretty much identical law that required the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in Kentucky in a decision called Stone v. Graham. More recently, in a decision called McCreary County, the Supreme Court blocked the public display of the Ten Commandments with an unmistakably religious purpose on public property—here, at a courthouse—and said this violates the separation of church and state enshrined in the establishment clause.

Jeff Landry knows that this law is unconstitutional. He has said, “Bring it on.” He’s ready for a lawsuit and to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court. His goal is to overturn these precedents and allow states like........

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