On Friday, late Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that California cannot enforce some of its restrictions on religious services, partially raising the limits set during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a 6-3 sentence, the judges held that the state cannot ban indoor worship, but can limit domestic services to a capacity of 25 percent. The court also did not prevent the state from imposing a ban on singing and singing inside.
The court ruled in two cases filed against the state by churches – one by South Bay United Pentecostal Church and another by Harvest Rock Church – over restrictions on the state.
California had moved to ban indoor worship services and other indoor activities, such as food and movie screenings, in areas designated as “Level 1,” which covers most of the world. state, due to the high number of coronaviruses.
Chief Justice John Roberts he wrote that federal courts owe “significant deference to politically responsible officials over public health restrictions,” but added that deference “has its restrictions.”
Roberts also explained that the way the state decided that “the maximum number of adherents who can safely worship in the most cavernous cathedral is nil – it does not seem to reflect experience or discretion, but an insufficient assessment or consideration of the interests at stake ”.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
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“Of course, if a chorister can sing in a Hollywood studio but not in his church, California regulations can’t be considered neutral,” Barrett wrote. “But the record is uncertain and the decisions presented below unfortunately shed little light on the issue.”
Justice Elena Kagan
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Sonia SotomayorCriminalizes Threats Against Public Officials Democrats weigh in on expanding lower courts after Trump blitz Night Defense: Army details new hairdressing standards | DC National Guard chief says Pentagon restricted his authority before riots | Colorado asks Biden not to move MORE Space Command all dissenting from opinion. Kagan wrote that the court ruling “challenges our jurisprudence, overrides our judicial role, and runs the risk of worsening the pandemic” by making a “special exception” for worship services.
“I fervently hope that the Court’s intervention will not worsen the nation’s COVID crisis,” Kagan wrote. “But if that decision causes suffering, we will not pay.”
The sentence comes a few months after the high court ruled 5-4 prohibit New York from applying limits to how many people can attend services due to the coronavirus pandemic.