US Supreme Court denies Nevada church's appeal of virus rule

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Scott Sonner, Associated Press
Updated 9:45 pm CDT, Friday, July 24, 2020

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court denied a rural Nevada church’s request late Friday to strike down as unconstitutional a 50-person cap on worship services as part of the state’s ongoing response to the coronavirus.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court refused to grant the request from the Christian church east of Reno to be subjected to the same COVID-19 restrictions in Nevada that allow casinos, restaurants and other businesses to operate at 50% of capacity with proper social distancing.

Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley argued that the hard cap on religious gatherings was an unconstitutional violation of its parishioners' First Amendment rights to express and exercise their beliefs.

Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal majority in denying the request without explanation.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/US-Supreme-Court-denies-Nevada-church-s-appeal-of-15433085.php

[Princess Turandot]

1. from SCOTUSblog: Justices decline to intervene in dispute over Nevada COVID-19 restrictions

Justices decline to intervene in dispute over Nevada COVID-19 restrictions (Amy Howe)

A divided Supreme Court on Friday night turned down a request by a Nevada church for permission to hold services on the same terms that other facilities in the state, including casinos, are allowed to hold gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s more liberal justices in denying the plea from Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, a Christian church located about 15 miles outside the state’s capital, Carson City. The ruling drew sharp dissents from the court’s more conservative justices, with Justice Samuel Alito writing that although the “Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion,” it “says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack.”

Earlier this month the church asked the justices to issue an order that would allow it to hold in-person worship services with as many as 90 people while it challenges the COVID-19 shutdown order issued by the state’s Democratic governor, Steve Sisolak. The order discriminates against places of worship, the church argued, because it limits services there to a maximum of 50 people while allowing casinos, gyms, bars and restaurants to operate at 50% of capacity. The church stressed that it is willing to comply with rules regarding masks and social distancing (both of which were largely absent from a photo included in the church’s brief, taken at a crowded Las Vegas casino on June 4); all that it was asking, it emphasized, was to be treated the same as everyone else.

The state pushed back against the church’s suggestion that casinos and churches should be treated the same. Unlike houses of worship, the state noted, casinos are “highly regulated” industries that face “significant punishment” if they do not comply with COVID-19 restrictions and can be shut down quickly during a second wave of the pandemic. Indeed, the state continued, under the COVID-19 restrictions religious services receive better treatment than similar mass gatherings like lectures, concerts, sporting events and plays. And in any event, the state concluded, Calvary could accommodate its entire congregation if it wanted to, simply by holding more services.

More at link.

[3Hotdogs]

2. So 5 justices sided with Lucifer.

Wait 'till Jesus gets ahold of their sorry asses.

[Bayard]

4. Its stupid to allow any gatherings right now

Fifty is a crowd.