Thomas Van Orden

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The controversial Ten Commandments display at the Texas State Capitol.

Thomas Van Orden is a disbarred U.S. lawyer who challenged the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on public property.

Van Orden v. Perry was presented before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2, 2005. The contention was that a large granite monument carved with the commandments, on display on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, was unconstitutional. In a decision reached June 27, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 against Van Orden.

Van Orden is also noteworthy because he is destitute and homeless, living out of a tent. The media has thus dubbed him "The Homeless Lawyer", a label Van Orden expressed distaste for, stating, "What do you think defines me: where I slept or what I did all day?" [1]

In the mid 1990s, while on sabbatical from his law practice, Van Orden worked at Austin based NuStats where he helped find solutions to transportation issues in Portland, Oregon while also helping his underpaid co-workers with various legal problems.^{[citation needed]}