On Monday (Jan. 25), the U.S. Supreme Court denied a Nevada church’s request to suspend a state-issued restraining order on places of worship during an outbreak.
In May 2020, Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley sued Nevada officials over an emergency order issued by Gov. Steve Sisolak prohibiting churches and other places of worship from holding services for 10 or more people.
The church claims in the lawsuit that officials put “non-essential” secular businesses and activities at the front of the line and pushed church services to the back. For example, restaurants were allowed to resume face-to-face dining at 50 percent capacity, but were barred from attending group worship services at churches.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada denied a motion to stay Hissolak’s ban, and an appeals court declined to intervene, prompting the church to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In July 2020, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, denied a stay of the ban. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a dissent that Chisolak was claiming that “during the COVID-19 (Chinese Communist virus) Epidemic, [the government) had virtually unlimited power to restrict constitutional rights.”
They wrote that the ban restricting attendance at religious services came at a Time when “casinos and some other venues favored by them were able to admit guests at up to 50 percent of their capacity, and in the massive Las Vegas casinos, that meant that thousands of patrons would be able to gather at will.”
The plaintiffs then asked the nation’s highest court to issue a writ of certiorari, or immediate review of Justice Kagan’s decision.
Before the Supreme Court intervened, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month overturned the district court’s initial order.
The panel ruled that the church had demonstrated the possibility of exercising its free exercise claim. “Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s judgment, direct the district court to conduct a strict review of its analysis of the ban and preliminarily enjoin the state from imposing restrictions on congregational worship services held in places of worship that are less than 25 percent of the required capacity for fire protection. The district court may modify this preliminary injunction in light of this opinion and general principles of fairness.”
On Jan. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court announced the denial of the petition for writ of certiorari review.
Recent Comments