Although the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry’s petition for writ of certiorari last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now denied the church’s challenge to a regional ban on indoor worship services.
“They ruled in our favor in the challenge to tiers 2 and 3 of the Blueprint, which is the 100 and 200 person limit,” Harvest Rock Church attorney Matt Staver said. “But that doesn’t really help the situation because Harvest Rock Church and most other churches are in Tier 1 zones.”
The Blueprint for a Safer Economy is a plan, created by state officials, for reducing COVID-19 infections with restrictions on activities based on a number of factors including the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and death. Under the Blueprint, Tier 1, also known as the purple zone, is the most restrictive of all tiers and zones.
“The ruling means people can go to church and worship but there is no numerical limit anymore,” Staver told the Southern California Record. “There's a percentage limit and we don't really know what that percentage cap is because the court never spelled it out.”
Circuit judges O’Scannlain, Rawlinson and Christen wrote in their Jan. 25 opinion, “This injunction does not prevent the State from enforcing the following policies against Harvest Rock or its member churches pending resolution of the appeal in this case: (1) the total prohibitions against indoor worship under Tier 1 of the Blueprint and the December 3 Regional Stay at Home Order; (2) the limitations on attendance at indoor worship services under Tiers 2, 3, and 4 of the Blueprint that is tied to a percentage of a facility’s fire-code capacity; and (3) the State’s restrictions on singing and chanting at indoor worship services.”
Staver blames the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s Jan. 22 decision in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, which set a precedent in federal court for the rest of the state. ABC News reported that South Bay United Pentecostal Church sued Gov. Newsom on May 5. 2020, alleging that placing houses of worship under Phase 3 of the state's 4-phase reopening plan violated the First Amendment of the Constitution’s free exercise of religion.
“That particular panel of three judges upheld the total ban on Tier 1 but struck down the 100 and 200 person limits on Tiers 2 and 3, which is really odd,” Staver said. “I expected that we would get a favorable decision based upon our argument but instead the court came out and said they were bound by how the previous panel had ruled on Jan. 22 in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom although Judge O’Scannlain issued another opinion that says the South Bay decision was wrong and needs to be corrected.”
While Judge O’Scannlain concurred, he added that the decision is out of step with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo.
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, SCOTUS overturned New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's religious restrictions on Nov. 25, issuing a temporary injunction that prevents Gov. Cuomo from enforcing limits of 10 and 25 worshipers because five justices thought New York state’s virus risk classifications were discriminatory.
“California’s uniquely severe restrictions against religious worship services—including its total ban against indoor worship in nearly the entire state—are patently unconstitutional and should be enjoined. The court’s refusal to do so in South Bay cries out for correction,” Judge O’Scannlain wrote in his Jan. 25 opinion.