(CN) — A federal judge ruled Friday that the state of California did not violate the rights of a church congregation when it instituted new mask rules this past fall, but said Santa Clara County will have to face claims that it interfered with the free exercise of religion by requiring masks to be worn during services at Calvary Chapel, a church based in San Jose. “It was under these Free Exercise standards that the Supreme Court in Gateway enjoined the County’s restrictions on indoor religious gatherings, finding the outcome ‘clearly dictated’ by the Court’s previous decisions,” U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman wrote in a 28-page decision . Labson Freeman told Santa Clara’s attorney during a hearing last week that their efforts to collect $2.8 million dollars from Mike McClure, the pastor of Calvary Chapel, was on constitutionally shaky ground. “This is not the hill you want to die on,” Labson Freeman told Deputy Chief County Counsel Robin Wall during the hearing. “The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified the law over the past two years and I intend to abide by the law as described.” The Supreme Court ruled against certain aspects of California’s Covid-19 regulations as they […]
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