Supreme Court strikes down another pandemic restriction on religious services washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Supreme Court halts California s COVID-19 limits on home worship gatherings
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A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Friday that California must allow people to gather for at-home worship without limiting size of gatherings to three households. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo
April 10 (UPI) The Supreme Court ruled that California cannot enforce its COVID-19 restrictions limiting number of households gathered in a home for worship to three.
The 5-4 ruling, which was released late Friday, overturns the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit, which denied motion to prohibit enforcement of restrictions on such gatherings, calling the lower court s decision erroneous. The majority opinion wasn t signed but included Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed in October.
WASHINGTON
The Supreme Court, citing religious liberty has lifted another of California’s COVID restrictions, holding the state may not prevent people from gathering in homes for Bible study and prayer meetings.
The court issued a 5-4 order near midnight Friday barring the enforcement of a state restriction that was due to expire on Thursday.
The court’s conservatives slammed the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for what they called another “erroneous” decision in favor of the state.
“This is the fifth time the court has summarily rejected the 9th Circuit’s analysis of California’s COVID restrictions on religious exercise,” they said in Tandon vs. Newsom. In the most significant of the rulings, the court in early February said churches in California may open for indoor worship services, so long as they enforced limits on how many people gathered together.
In 5-4 vote, Supreme Court lifts California s Covid-19 ban on group Bible study in homes dailyrepublic.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailyrepublic.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In this Nov. 6, 2020, file photo, the Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings.The . more > By Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times - Saturday, April 10, 2021
The Supreme Court late Friday blocked California’s ban on large in-home religious gatherings and faulted the state for treating religious activities more harshly than similar secular activity.
In a 5-4 decision, the justices cited First Amendment concerns in granting the injunction requested by the petitioners, the Rev. Jeremy Wong and Karen Busch, who conducted religious services in their home in Santa Clara County.