Will SCOTUS Now Side With Churches in COVID Complaints Thanks to Amy Coney Barrett?

houses of worship
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administers the Judicial Oath to Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the East Conference Room, Supreme Court Building. Judge Barrett’s husband, Jesse M. Barrett, holds the Bible. Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

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Decision Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences

Justice Stephen Breyer, who handles emergency appeals from the Second Circuit, has ordered New York to respond to the diocesan complaint by November 18. Legal experts expect the case to reach the entire Supreme Court, and a ruling for the diocese could encourage churches throughout America to seek similar relief from restrictions they view as unfair.

The court battle comes as coronavirus cases, positivity rates, and hospitalizations are surging throughout the country. More than 10 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 1 million in just the last 10 days.

Public health experts warn that any indoor gatherings—including but not limited to church services—pose significant risk of becoming “superspreader” events. Barrett’s nomination ceremony at the White House Rose Garden led to a coronavirus outbreak, a fact that one writer says “would be grimly ironic if her first major vote facilitates more such public health catastrophes.”

But the Brooklyn diocese argues that religious freedom is paramount, even during a pandemic. Its lawyers told the district court, “The pandemic alone cannot justify overbroad, untailored closure orders of indefinite duration directed at all houses of worship, that in another time would plainly be found to violate the Constitution.” Attorney Randy Mastro adds, “Public officials have a sacred duty to do right by those they serve, but this [executive order] is simply wrong and wrong-headed.”

Attorneys for the state, meanwhile, contend that the order “is not about fault-finding” and that the “relentless little virus…doesn’t care whose fault it is.” They add, “This is about protecting the entire public, the over 19 million people in the State of New York, many of whom are parishioners of the Diocese.”

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Stephanie Martin
Stephanie Martin, a freelance writer and editor in Denver, has spent her entire 30-year journalism career in Christian publishing. She loves the Word and words, is a binge reader and grammar nut, and is fanatic (as her family can attest) about Jeopardy! and pro football.

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