Federal Court Approves Jesus Portrait In Larger Display In Slidell Courthouse

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that a Louisiana federal district court on Friday refused to order a picture of Jesus removed from the lobby of the Slidell (LA) City Court now that the pictures of 15 other people who were important in the development of legal history have been added.. A copy of the U.S. Constitution has also been hung in the center of the display. (See prior posting.) U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle said he would have ordered the picture removed if it the additional portraits had not been added. A challenge to the portrait of Jesus which has been in the courthouse for many years was filed by the ACLU. Apparently the former judge who purchased the portrait did not realize that it had religious significance, despite the halo around the head of the portrait's subject. Retired Judge James R. Strain Jr. said he thought it was merely a picture of a lawgiver.