Judge Orders California Gov Gavin Newsom to Pay $1 35 Million to Church He Locked Down State catholiccitizens.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholiccitizens.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CHULA VISTA (KUSI) – Thomas More Society and South Bay United Pentecostal Church have achieved what is now a complete victory at the United States Supreme Court with an April 26, 2021, order vacating the Ninth Circuit’s prior judgment in the case.
The San Diego area church and its pastor, Rev. Arthur E. Hodges II, sued California Governor Gavin Newsom for COVID prompted discrimination that denied them the right to hold indoor worship services. The governor’s executive orders also put limits on the number of people that could gather for worship and prohibited singing during services.
Thomas More Society Special Counsel Paul Jonna, partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP, called the high court order the “final nail in the coffin” burying Newsom’s unconstitutional chokehold on California churches.
Editor-at-Large
An emergency appeal to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s order limiting church services during the COVID-19 pandemic was rejected by the United States Supreme Court on Friday.
The South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista filed a lawsuit earlier this month seeking to overturn the Governor’s health order restricting church services.
The church argued that the ban was unconstitutional because it infringes on its freedom to practice their religion. A federal court in San Diego rejected their claim on May 15th, as did the appellate court last week.
Last week, Governor Newsom announced that church services could resume but with limits on attendance of 25% of building capacity or 100 attendees, whichever is lower.