Thomas Van Orden

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The controversial Ten Commandments display at the Texas State Capitol.

Thomas Van Orden is a U.S. lawyer who challenged the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on public property. Orden, a native of Austin, Texas, graduated from Southern Methodist Law School,^[1] and was a practicing lawyer before his suspension in December of 1999.^[2]

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?"^[3]

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]}