(Indianapolis) – Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Attorney General Todd Rokita have asked a federal court to lift a more than 20-year-old injunction that has blocked the placement of a donated historical monument on the Indiana Statehouse grounds, arguing that changes in constitutional law have undercut the original ruling.
The motion, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, seeks to dissolve a permanent injunction entered in 2002 that bars the state from installing a monument displaying the Ten Commandments, the Bill of Rights and the Preamble to the Indiana Constitution. State attorneys contend the injunction was based on a legal framework the U.S. Supreme Court has since abandoned.
The monument, donated by the Indiana Limestone Institute, was designed to replace an earlier Ten Commandments display that stood on the Statehouse lawn from 1958 until it was vandalized in 1991. The current monument includes the Ten Commandments on one large face, the Bill of Rights on the opposite face, and the Indiana Constitution’s preamble and a donor dedication on the remaining sides.
Rokita said the Statehouse grounds already feature numerous monuments and markers recognizing Indiana’s and the nation’s history, and he argues the display should be viewed as a historical acknowledgment of foundational texts that shaped American law and civic life. Braun said the state is asking the court to reconsider the injunction in light of what he described as a clear shift in Establishment Clause jurisprudence.
When the injunction was imposed, courts relied on the so-called Lemon test from a 1971 Supreme Court decision, which evaluated whether government actions had a secular purpose and avoided advancing religion. In more recent cases, including rulings involving a Ten Commandments monument at the Texas Capitol and other religiously associated displays, the Supreme Court has moved away from that approach, instead directing courts to consider whether such practices fit within the nation’s historical traditions.
State attorneys also argue that developments in standing doctrine weaken the basis for the original lawsuit, which was brought by plaintiffs who said they would be offended by encountering the monument on Statehouse grounds.
If the court grants the motion, the monument would be moved from its current location in Bedford, Indiana, and placed near its originally intended site on the Statehouse grounds.
Civil liberties advocates have long opposed the monument, arguing that placing a Ten Commandments display at the seat of state government risks conveying official endorsement of religion, even when paired with other historical texts. They have also warned that lifting the injunction could erode long-standing boundaries between church and state and marginalize Hoosiers who do not share the religious traditions reflected in the display.
The court has not ruled on the motion. A decision would determine whether the decades-old injunction remains in force or whether the monument can finally be installed on Statehouse property.
