{"id":239707,"date":"2020-11-27T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T03:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=239707"},"modified":"2020-12-11T12:33:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T07:03:01","slug":"even-in-a-pandemic-the-constitution-cannot-be-forgotten-in-a-split-decision-scotus-upholds-first-amendment-guarantee-of-religious-liberty-and-bars-restrictions-on-religious-servic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/11\/27\/even-in-a-pandemic-the-constitution-cannot-be-forgotten-in-a-split-decision-scotus-upholds-first-amendment-guarantee-of-religious-liberty-and-bars-restrictions-on-religious-servic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cEven in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be forgotten\u201d- In a split decision, SCOTUS upholds First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty and bars restrictions on religious services in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS): <\/strong>While deliberating upon the applications seeking relief from an Executive Order issued by the Governor of New York imposing very severe restrictions on attendance at religious services in areas classified as \u201cRed\u201d or \u201cOrange\u201d Covid-19 zones; the Full Bench of the Court, with a ratio of 5:4, barred the restrictions\u00a0on religious services in New York that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo had imposed to combat the coronavirus. The majority comprising of recently inducted Justice Amy Coney Barret along with Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, JJ., observed that, \u201cMembers of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the judgment of those with special exper\u00adtise and responsibility in this area. But even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten. The re\u00adstrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment\u2019s guarantee of religious liberty<\/em>\u201d. John Roberts, C.J., however, joined the other dissenting judges – Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, JJ.<\/p>\n

Fact: <\/strong>The Governor of New York, Mr. Cuomo had issued an Order as per which, \u2018in Red zones, no more than 10 persons may attend each religious service, and in Orange zones, attendance is capped at 25\u2019. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the Agudath Israel of America filed applications contending that the attendance restrictions violate the Free Ex\u00adercise Clause of the First Amendment. Agudath Israel of America made a fervent argument about the Governor specif\u00adically targeting the Orthodox Jewish community and \u201cgerry\u00admandering (manipulated) the boundaries of red and orange zones to ensure that heavily Orthodox areas were included\u201d. Both the Dio\u00adcese and Agudath Israel maintain that the Executive Order is treating \u201chouses of worship much more harshly than comparable sec\u00adular facilities\u201d. The applicant also informed the Court that they have been complying with all public health guidance; implemented additional precautionary measures; and have operated at 25% or 33% capacity for months without a sin\u00adgle outbreak.<\/p>\n

Majority Opinion:<\/strong> Perusing the contentions of the aggrieved parties, the majority agreed that the applicants have clearly established that their First Amendment claims are likely to prevail, and denying them relief would lead to irreparable injury, and that granting relief would not harm the public interest. They strictly noted that while attendance at houses of worship is limited to 25 per\u00adsons, even non-essential businesses may decide for them\u00adselves how many persons to admit. Stating that such a categorisation is problematic, the Judges pointed out that book stores and factories have been treated less harshly than synagogues and churches. As per the majority, an Executive Order should be \u2018neutral\u2019 and \u2018general applicability\u2019 and should be \u2018narrowly tailored to serve a compelling State interest\u2019. Noting that stemming the spread of COVID\u201319, though a compelling State interest, but they cannot see how the challenged regulations can be regarded as \u201cnar\u00adrowly tailored\u201d as they are far more restrictive than any COVID\u201319 related regulations that have previously come be\u00adfore the Court, much tighter than those adopted by many other jurisdictions hard-hit by the pandemic, and far more severe than has been shown to be required to prevent the spread of the virus at the applicants\u2019 services.<\/p>\n

Dissenting Opinions:<\/strong> Sonia Sotomayor, J., in her strongly worded dissent, which also served as a criticism of the majority judgment, observed that, \u201cAmidst a pandemic that has already claimed over a quar\u00adter million American lives, the Court today enjoins one of New York\u2019s public health measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID\u201319 in areas facing the most severe out\u00adbreaks.\u00a0 I fear that granting applications such as the one filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn will only exacerbate the Nation\u2019s suffering. Free religious exercise is one of our most treasured and jealously guarded constitutional rights. States may not dis\u00adcriminate against religious institutions, even when faced with a crisis as deadly as this one. But those principles are not at stake today. The Constitution does not forbid States from responding to public health crises through regulations that treat religious institutions equally or more favorably than comparable secular institutions, particularly when those regulations save lives<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Breyer, J., observed that those parts of Brooklyn and Queens where the Diocese\u2019s churches and the two applicant synagogues are located are no longer within Red or Orange zones, thus, none of the appli\u00adcants are now subject to the fixed-capacity restrictions that they challenge in their applications. The specific applicant houses of worship are now in yellow zones where they can hold services up to 50% of maximum capacity. Pointing out that the applicants did not challenge any Yellow zone restrictions, instead of going forward in challenging the Red and Orange zone restrictions on the ground that the State might re-impose the red or orange zone restrictions in the future; \u201cbut, were that to occur, they could re-file their applications here, by letter brief if necessary. And this Court, if necessary, could then decide the matter expeditiously. Why should this Court act now without argument or full consideration in the ordinary course?\u201d [Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Andrew M. Cuomo, 2020 SCC OnLine US SC 9<\/b><\/a>, decided on 25-11-2020]<\/p>\n

\n

Sucheta Sarkar, Editorial Assistant has put this story together<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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| Obergefell v. Hodges Ruling credited with the creation of \u2018Right to Same-Sex Marriage\u2019 in USA, heavily criticized for its \u201cruinous consequence for religious liberty\u201d","author":"Editor","date":"October 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS): While denying the issuance of the writ of certiorari as prayed by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in relation to the lawsuits accusing her of violating the constitutional rights of same sex couples, the Court went on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Supreme Court of The United States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":233057,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/07\/29\/scotus-denies-permission-to-calvary-chapel-to-hold-service-on-parity-of-terms-allowed-to-casinos-draws-strong-dissent-from-4-judges\/","url_meta":{"origin":239707,"position":1},"title":"SCOTUS denies permission to Calvary Chapel to hold service on parity of terms allowed to casinos; Draws strong dissent from 4 Judges","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"July 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme\u00a0Court of The United States (SCOTUS):\u00a0In a 5:4 decision, the majority\u00a0 comprising of John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice, and Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elana Kagan, JJ., denied permission to Calvary Chappel, a Nevada church, to hold services on the same terms which were allowed by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Supreme Court of The United States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":231905,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/07\/08\/scotus-bar-imposed-on-families-from-using-state-scholarships-for-religious-schools-is-violative-of-free-exercise-clause-of-federal-constitution\/","url_meta":{"origin":239707,"position":2},"title":"SCOTUS | Bar imposed on families from using State Scholarships for religious schools is violative of Free Exercise Clause of Federal Constitution\u00a0","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"July 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme Court of the United States: While determining that whether Rule 1 promulgated by the Montana Revenue Department barring the families from using State scholarships, for religious schools is violative of the Federal Constitution; the 9 Judge Bench of the Court, with a ratio of 5:4 held that, the application\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Supreme Court of The United States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":270937,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/08\/01\/scotus-maine-department-of-educations-non-sectarian-requirement-for-tuition-assistance-payments-is-violative-of-us-constitutions-first-amendment\/","url_meta":{"origin":239707,"position":3},"title":"SCOTUS| Maine Department of Education\u2019s \u2018non-sectarian requirement\u2019 for tuition assistance payments, is violative of US Constitution\u2019s First Amendment","author":"Editor","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS): While deciding the instant petition wherein the Maine Department of Education (hereinafter the Department) was sued for instituting a requisite for schools to be \u201cnonsectarian\u201d in order to be eligible for tuition assistance; the SCOTUS, with a ratio of 6: 3 held that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Supreme Court of The United States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":269495,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/07\/04\/kneeling-at-the-football-field-after-games-to-offer-a-quiet-personal-prayer-whether-such-observances-are-protected-under-the-us-constitutions-first-amendment-scotus-answers\/","url_meta":{"origin":239707,"position":4},"title":"Kneeling at the football field after games to offer a quiet personal prayer: whether such observances are protected under the US Constitution’s First Amendment? SCOTUS answers","author":"Editor","date":"July 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme Court of The United States: While deliberating upon the instant matter, wherein the petitioner lost his job as a high school football coach in the Bremerton School District, after he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet personal prayer; the Court held that, the Free Exercise and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Supreme Court of The United States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":232257,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/07\/15\/scotus-validates-promulgation-of-rules-imposing-moral-and-religious-exemptions-on-providing-contraceptive-coverage-to-women-by-their-employers\/","url_meta":{"origin":239707,"position":5},"title":"SCOTUS validates promulgation of Rules imposing moral and religious exemptions on providing contraceptive coverage to women by their employers","author":"Editor","date":"July 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Sucheta Sarkar, Editorial Assistant has put this story together","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Supreme Court of The United States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/supreme_court_of_US.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}