Two San Jose pastors who are embroiled in litigation with Santa Clara County were handed a legal victory last week.
The 2020 sanctions and contempt of court charges against Calvary Chapel Pastors Mike McClure and Carson Atherly were reversed by the Sixth District Court of Appeal on Aug. 15.
In the unanimous decision, a panel of three judges determined that lower court orders are unconstitutional pursuant to 2021 U.S. Supreme Court opinions, including Tandon v Newsom, because houses of worship were treated differently from secular activities under public health orders.
“As the underlying orders which Calvary Chapel violated are void and unenforceable, we will annul the orders of contempt in their entirety and reverse the orders to pay monetary sanctions,” wrote Judge Mary J Greenwood. Judge Allison Marston Danner and Judge Patricia Bamattre-Manoukia agreed.
“We're still having to litigate the county fines but the decision is big because the public health orders are the same so it will have a precedential effect,” said attorney Mariah Gondeiro, who represents the church.
The sanctions that the appellate court dissolved amounted to some $217,000 in fines and sanctions ordered by the Santa Clara Superior Court when the pastors continued to hold worship services despite COVID-19 health orders that restricted church services, required masks, and social distancing.
“There wasn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to what they were deeming as essential or not or to the orders that were implemented throughout the pandemic,” Gondeiro told the Southern California Record. “There was no justification and so I would hope that the county would settle this case. It's in their best favor to do that but we'll have to see.”
Some $2.8 million in county fines is still being litigated in both state and federal court with the county seeking to enforce the fines in state court and the pastors seeking to prevent the fines and hold the orders unconstitutional in federal court.
“We have a motion to stay pending right now,” Gondeiro added. “We are asking the state court to stay the proceeding until the federal court decides the matter.”