The United States Supreme Court granted temporary relief on Monday to pastors who sued California over restrictions on the state’s coronavirus.
The decision effectively allows a group of houses of worship to conduct closed services with some limits after a lower court has supported state restrictions. Monday’s order sends the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with pre-trial detention instructions to the district court.
It comes after a series of controversial cases in which states like California have imposed restrictions that clashed with demands for religious freedom.
On Friday, judges said in a 6-3 vote that the state could not impose radical bans on worship inside the house, but could limit the building’s capacity to 25%.
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Last week’s decision showed the judges battling restrictions on indoor singing or singing, allowing California to stop these activities.
“The current state determination – that the maximum number of adherents who can safely adore in the most cavernous cathedral is zero – appears to reflect not skill or discretion, but rather insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake,” he said. the president of court Roberts.
Newsom’s office said these measures were imposed to protect the faithful from being infected.
“We will continue to apply the restrictions that the Supreme Court left in place and, after reviewing the decision, we will issue revised guidelines for religious services to continue to protect the lives of Californians,” said the governor’s press secretary, Daniel Lopez, in a statement. declaration.
On Saturday, Newsom’s office issued revised guidelines for closed religious services after the Supreme Court lifted the state ban on indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but maintained restrictions on singing and chanting.
Governor Newsom’s handling of the pandemic is believed to have supported a recall effort that generated more than 1.4 million signatures out of the nearly 1.5 million needed by mid-March to trigger a special election.
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In November, a Sutter County judge provisionally ruled that one of the dozens of executive orders issued by Newsom exceeded its authority and was “an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power”.
The Supreme Court’s action follows a late 2020 ruling in a 5-4 decision involving New York’s frequency cap on churches and synagogues. Shortly thereafter, California was instructed to reexamine its restrictions.
Brittany De Lea and Fox News’ Associated Press contributed to this report.