In a narrow 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States overruled the Ninth Circuit for a fifth time on COV restrictions, rejecting California’s ban on in-home religious services.
They sided with a group of Santa Clara residents who said the ban violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
As usual, Justice Roberts sided with the liberal/leftist jurors. When it comes to freedom, Justice Roberts is on the side of tyrants.
“Applicants are likely to succeed on the merits of their free exercise claim; they are irreparably harmed by the loss of free exercise rights ‘for even minimal periods of time’; the State has not shown that ‘public health would be imperiled’ by employing less restrictive measures,” an unsigned opinion of the court’s majority said in its opinion.
“It is unsurprising that such litigants are entitled to relief. California’s Blueprint System contains myriad exceptions and accommodations for comparable activities, thus requiring the application of strict scrutiny,” the majority wrote on Friday.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett made up the majority.
Roberts didn’t sign the dissent.
Kagan said she would have rejected the application for relief because she felt the state complied with the First Amendment in its limiting religious gatherings in homes to three households since the state had the same restrictions on secular gatherings in homes.
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