BATON ROUGE — Attorneys general from 18 states said Wednesday they had filed documents with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals expressing support for a Louisiana law that requires public schools to post a version of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman made the announcement in Frankfort. He said 17 other states had joined in.

A federal judge in Baton Rouge has declared the Louisiana law unconstitutional, finding it "overtly religious" and  "unconstitutional on its face.” The 5th Circuit last month declined to set aside the ruling from U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ahead of oral arguments Jan. 23.

Echoing the state of Louisiana's argument, Coleman said there is a valid reason to post the Commandments.

“From our founding documents to the establishment of the rule of law in the United States, the Ten Commandments’ influence on American history is undeniable,” Coleman said. Other states joining the filing were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court found a similar Kentucky law unconstitutional because it had no secular purpose.

The version of the Ten Commandments listed in the Louisiana law are ascribed to no particular translation but track closely with a Protestant version.