Nathan v. Alamo Heights
Independent School District
The Ten Commandments, the Classroom, and What's Left of the Wall
By a 9-8 vote, the en banc Fifth Circuit upheld Texas S.B. 10's requirement that every public-school classroom display the King James Version of the Decalogue. The majority held that Stone v. Graham did not survive Kennedy v. Bremerton. Eight judges disagreed. This site collects a full case brief, a law-student essay, the five-panel infographic series, interactive visualizations of the vote, a searchable precedent library, and the full opinion.
1 Quick overview
The holding
Plaintiffs have standing and the claim is ripe; S.B. 10 violates neither the Establishment Clause nor the Free Exercise Clause under the historical-hallmarks framework of Kennedy v. Bremerton. Preliminary injunction vacated; claims dismissed.
The most aggressive move
The majority declares Stone v. Graham abrogated along with Lemon. That move has no direct Supreme Court endorsement and is the cleanest vehicle for certiorari review.
Six separate opinions
Majority (Duncan, J., for 9). Ho concurrence. Oldham partial concurrence (joined by Willett). Dissents by Ramirez (principal), Southwick, Haynes, and Higginson.
Why law students should read it
It is the first en banc circuit decision to rest classroom-display doctrine entirely on Shurtleff's six "historical hallmarks." The test's underdetermined character is the central exam-question issue.
2 Start here
Case brief
The full nine-section brief: Memory Jogger, Facts, Procedural History, Votes, Holding, Analysis of all six opinions, five Future-Application hypotheticals, scholarly and independent critique, and verified Key Quotations.
→Essay for law students
"What Is Left of the Wall?" A guided walk through Everson, Lemon, Stone, the school-prayer line, Kennedy, and Mahmoud, ending with the Jesus-poster and crucifix stress-tests of the majority's framework.
→After the Decalogue, the Voucher
A companion essay for law students and professors on Carson v. Makin, Texas's TEFA voucher program (274,000+ applications for 80,000 slots), the Muslim-exclusion lawsuit now pending in Houston, and the doctrinal tools that survive Kennedy — Zelman, Larson, Shurtleff, and state constitutions.
→Audio debate
A recorded discussion of the doctrinal stakes in Nathan: the six-hallmark framework, the aggressive Stone v. Graham abrogation move, and the three lines of dissent. Streamable or downloadable.
→Five-panel infographic series
Case at a Glance, Facts & Procedural Path, Majority's Reasoning, Dissents & Fault Lines, and Opinion Lineup / Study Guide.
→Interactive visualizations
Charts of the merits vote, the fractured standing vote, the opinion-join matrix, and the denominational composition of the plaintiff families.
→Precedent cards
Seventeen flashcard-style entries for the major Establishment Clause and Free Exercise precedents invoked in Nathan — each with citation, one-line holding, and its role in the decision.
→Scholarly bibliography
Five annotated entries — Lupu & Tuttle, McGreal, Barclay, Muñoz, Corbin — with each article's argument, its relevance to Nathan, and the opinions that engage with it.
→The opinion (PDF)
The complete 118-page slip opinion as filed April 21, 2026, plus an 11-page condensed classroom edition — embedded for scroll-reading or download.
3 The vote at a glance
9 for reversal
Duncan (author), Elrod (C.J.), Jones, Smith, Willett, Ho, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson
8 for affirmance
Ramirez, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Douglas
4 The four fault lines
1. Is Stone still binding?
Majority: no; Stone fell with Lemon. Ramirez, Haynes, and Southwick: yes; Rodriguez de Quijas forbids silent overruling.
2. What "coercion" means in schools
Majority: formal compulsion to engage in worship. Dissents: the school-prayer line (Lee, Santa Fe) recognizes subtle and indirect pressure as enough.
3. Denominational preference
Higginson: Texas chose the KJV Protestant Decalogue. Majority: the text has "pan-Judeo-Christian cultural resonance." Larson v. Valente survives either way.
4. Reach of Mahmoud v. Taylor
Majority: Mahmoud reached "compulsory curriculum," not wall displays. Higginson: the parental-rights logic applies a fortiori to unopt-outable posters.