The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted temporary legal aid to ministers who sued California over the state’s coronavirus restrictions.
The decision effectively allows a group of worship services to hold indoor services with certain limits after a lower court supported the state’s restrictions. Monday’s order sent the case to the Ninth Court of Appeal with instructions to be submitted to the district court.
This comes after a series of controversial cases in which states such as California imposed restrictions that came against religious freedom demands.
On Friday, the judges said in a 6-3 vote that the state could not ban indoor worship, but could limit 25% of the building’s capacity.
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Last week’s decision showed that the judges are wrestling with restrictions on indoor singing or singing, which will eventually enable California to stop the activities.
“The current provision of the state – that the maximum number of devotees who can worship safely in the most hollow cathedral is not zero – does not seem to reflect expertise or discretion, but rather insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake. “Chief Justice Roberts said.
Newsom’s office said these measures were put in place to protect worshipers from contamination.
“We will continue to apply the restrictions that the Supreme Court has enacted, and after reviewing the ruling, we will issue revised guidelines for worship services to protect the lives of Californians,” Gov. Daniel Lopez said. in a statement.
Newsom’s office on Saturday issued revised guidelines for indoor church services after the high court lifted the ban on the state’s indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but imposed restrictions on singing and chanting.
Government Newsom’s handling of the pandemic has reportedly supported a recall effort that yielded more than 1.4 million signatures of the nearly 1.5 million needed in mid-March to hold a special election.
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In November, a Sutter provincial judge tentatively ruled that one of the dozens of executive orders issued by Newsom exceeded his authority and was “an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power.”
The Supreme Court’s action follows a decision at the end of 2020 in a 5-4 ruling that restricts New York’s visits to churches and synagogues. Shortly thereafter, California was instructed to reconsider its restrictions.
Brittany De Lea and Fox News Associated Press contributed to this report.