Just In… Last summer, I wrote , “The Supreme Court has never been more protective of religious freedom in its history.” This term, the court’s “pro-religion” streak has continued — and then some. First, there were the COVID-19 cases. Initially, the court was reluctant to grant emergency relief, declining to intervene in challenges to California’s and Nevada’s restrictions last summer. But on Thanksgiving eve last year, the court changed its tune, thanks to the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett was part of the court’s new majority that prohibited New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from enforcing an executive order imposing very severe restrictions on attendance at religious services. In an unsigned opinion, the court explained that while stemming the spread of COVID was “unquestionably a compelling interest,” Cuomo’s order was not narrowly tailored: “Even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten.” Despite the clarity of that opinion, the court had to step in again in a case brought by an evangelical church in Pasadena challenging California’s restrictions on indoor worship. The court struck down a 0% capacity public health order on indoor worship services and stopped California’s restrictive rules as they applied to indoor […]
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