The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with churches against California’s coronavirus gathering restrictions.
In an unsigned opinion, the court granted the churches injunctive relief and sent the case back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court asked the lower court to consider the churches’ plea in light of a decision in which New York houses of worship sued to undo Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions. In that case, the court granted an injunction to Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues, saying they were treated unequally in lockdown orders.
Attorneys for the California churches, run by Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministries, celebrated the win, with Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver, who is defending them, saying that “the handwriting is now on the wall” for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restrictions.
Harvest Rock has been locked in a legal debate with Newsom since July, when he ordered that all churches cease singing and move services outdoors. More recently, Newsom introduced a tiered system of reopening that drew outrage from many churches in the most restricted regions of the state.
Harvest Rock appealed to the Supreme Court in November, accusing Newsom of violating the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. The church also alleged that Newsom treated churches and business unequally, pointing to an incident in which Newsom himself attended a large indoor dinner party, maskless and around a large table.
“Despite his nine-month reign of executive edicts subjugating Californians to restrictions unknown to constitutional law, the Governor continues to impose draconian and unconscionable prohibitions on the daily life of all Californians that even the Governor disregards at his own whim,” the churches’ complaint said.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Monday urged the court to ignore the church’s appeal, citing the health concerns raised by the pandemic.
“Scientific knowledge concerning COVID-19 is rapidly developing and now provides even stronger support than before for the restrictions at issue,” he wrote. “More importantly, like many other parts of the nation, California is experiencing an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases, creating an even greater public health need for restrictions on prolonged communal gatherings in indoor places.”
The Supreme Court’s decision marks the second time since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation that the court has decided in favor of churches with regard to coronavirus restrictions. This summer, the court denied California and Nevada churches separate injunctions with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the decisive vote. At the time, Roberts wrote that he was not comfortable issuing injunctions, especially with the ever-changing terms of coronavirus restrictions.
The court has several other appeals from churches before it. A collection of New Jersey churches and synagogues is expected to receive a decision in the next week. Calvary Chapel, the Nevada church denied an injunction this summer, appealed to the Supreme Court again in November and is awaiting a decision.
The court’s new attitude toward coronavirus church restrictions has inspired faith leaders in many states with gathering limits still in place to speak out against them. On Wednesday, a Maine church, which had previously sued Gov. Janet Mills for her lockdown orders, said that the court’s decisions should apply more broadly after the New York decision.
California churches made similar arguments, with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone saying that Newsom’s restrictions are “precisely the kind of blatant discrimination to which the Supreme Court gave injunctive relief in New York.”
