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S. Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom

S. Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom

Supreme Court of the United States

February 5, 2021, Decided

No. 20A136 (20-746).

Opinion

 [*716]  [**22]   Application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is granted in part. Respondents are enjoined from enforcing the Blueprint’s Tier 1 prohibition on indoor worship services against the applicants pending [***2]  disposition of the petition for writ of certiorari. Application denied with respect to the percentage capacity limitations, and respondents are not enjoined from imposing a 25% capacity limitation on indoor worship services in Tier 1. Application denied with respect to the prohibition on singing and chanting during indoor services. This order is without prejudice to the applicants presenting new evidence to the District Court that the State is not applying the percentage capacity limitations or the prohibition on singing and chanting in a generally applicable manner. Should the petition for writ of certiorari be denied, this order shall terminate automatically. In the event the petition for writ of certiorari is granted, the order shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.

Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch would grant the application in full.

Justice Alito would grant the application with respect to all of the capacity  [**23]  restrictions on indoor worship services and the prohibition against indoor singing and chanting, and would stay for 30 days an injunction against the percentage attendance caps and the prohibition against indoor singing and [***3]  chanting. Justice Alito would have the stay lift in 30 days unless the State demonstrates clearly that nothing short of those measures will reduce the community spread of COVID-19 at indoor religious gatherings to the same extent as do the restrictions the State enforces with respect to other activities it classifies as essential.

Concur by: ROBERTS; BARRETT

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141 S. Ct. 716 *; 209 L. Ed. 2d 22 **; 2021 U.S. LEXIS 758 ***; 89 U.S.L.W. 3262; 2021 WL 406258

South Bay United Pentecostal Church, et al., Applicants v. Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, et al.

Notice: The LEXIS pagination of this document is subject to change pending release of the final published version.

Subsequent History: Petition granted by, Remanded by S. Bay Pentecostal v. Newsom, 2021 U.S. LEXIS 2204 (U.S., Apr. 26, 2021)

Prior History:  [***1] ON APPLICATION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

S. Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, 981 F.3d 765, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 38254, 2020 WL 7224194 (9th Cir. Cal., Dec. 8, 2020)

CORE TERMS

indoor, singing, religious, gatherings, worship, ban, worship service, public health, regulations, secular, limits, churches, chanting, pandemic, restrictions, cases, injunctive relief, transmission, injunction, proximity, studios, courts, crisis