On October 15, 2020, the district court once again denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary injunction.
The plaintiffs brought their case to the Supreme Court. They requested an injunction against California’s ban on indoor worship services.
Supreme Court orders California to allow indoor worship services
In a 6-3 ruling late Friday, the nation’s highest court granted in part the plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief.
The Supreme ruled that California can not impose its Blueprint’s Tier 1 totally banning indoor worship service. However, the state can enforce 25% capacity limitations for places of worship under Tier 1.
Additionally, the nation’s highest court allowed California to prohibit singing and chanting during indoor worship services to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19.
A regulation that targets religion for differential treatment violates the First Amendment
In his concurring opinion granting the injunctive relief, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, Since the arrival of COVID–19, California has openly imposed more stringent
regulations on religious institutions than on many businesses. The State’s spreadsheet summarizing its pandemic rules even assigns places of worship their own row.”
