The Supreme Court Building Commission deferred to the artists of the Supreme Court in making decisions.

Another problem with the 10 Commandments argument is that the artists made decisions about what to include in their art independently of the Supreme Court Building Commission and of each other. No artist, in other words, can be taken as speaking for the "art" of the court. Even if some artist believed that American law is grounded in the 10 Commandments, and designed art to that effect, that would simply be his own personal opinion, not the official position of the Commission or the artistic team.

According to the office of the Curator of the Supreme Court building:

The Supreme Court Building Commission, like most building commissions of the 1930s, did not question what figures or symbols were to be used as embellishments. They understood that the architect had authority in this matter, with the architect usually deferring to the sculptor himself. Such was the case with Cass Gilbert and the embellishments on the Supreme Court building (Descriptions of the Friezes in the Courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States and of the East and West Pediments of the Building Exterior, p. 1).