The courthouse in Slidell, La., had a portrait of Jesus on the wall, with the words, “To know peace, obey these laws.” This put a burr under the saddle of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed suit to have the portrait removed.
The court responded by adding portraits of Napoleon, Confucius, Hammurabi, Moses, Charlemagne, Octavian, Louis IX, John Marshall and other historical figures—plus a framed copy of the Constitution. Here‘s a story from Christine Harvey of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.
Mike Johnson, a lawyer from a Christian advocacy group representing the court, said the idea was “to erect an artistic display to emphasize the importance of following the law to maintain a peaceful society.”
I think Johnson has the ACLU checkmated. It’s hard to argue now, it seems to me, that the courthouse display is more religious than historical—particularly since many public buildings, including he U.S. Supreme Court , contain similar art works depicting “great lawgivers of history.” (The Supreme Court friezes do not include Jesus—but they do include Moses, Solomon, and Muhammad. Yes, Muhammad.)