Posted by Elyse Bentz.
This article published by The New York Times discusses court cases that have made their way to the supreme court about the government lifting their Coronavirus restriction on attendance at religious services. Churches in California, Nevada, and New York all presented cases stating that the restrictions violated the First Amendment right of freedom of religion. The courts have ruled in both the Nevada and California case but not yet the New York case, the two cases presented lost in a ruling of 5-4 in the supreme court. This article was written after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn filed an emergency application asking the supreme court to lift restrictions set by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
One view of the court was presented by Chief Justice Roberts where he presents the argument that officials who are elected with protecting the public should not be questions. The article includes a quote that Chief Justice Roberts made on the topic “should not be subject to second-guessing by an unelected federal judiciary, which lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people” (Liptak). Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. expressed the opposite view saying people’s fundamental rights are being violated: “Whenever fundamental rights are restricted, the Supreme Court and other courts cannot close their eyes,” Justice Alito said on Thursday, rejecting the view that “whenever there is an emergency, executive officials have unlimited, unreviewable discretion’” (Liptak).
The article continues to go into details about the New York case, starting in the appeals court lawyers for Governor Cuomo agreed that the diocese has been following social-distancing and hygiene measures. The diocese does not want anything other than being able to function at 25% capacity and continue to follow Coronavirus regulations. Judge Garaufis said that it was difficult to rule on this case and would leave it up to the governor. This was the ruling “In refusing to block the governor’s order while the diocese’s appeal went forward, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit drew on Chief Justice Roberts’s concurring opinion in the California case. Since the restrictions on churches were less severe than those on comparable secular gatherings like theaters, casinos and gyms, the majority wrote in an unsigned opinion, they did not run afoul of constitutional protections for religious freedom” (Liptak).
This case will be ruled on in the upcoming weeks and the outcome of New York’s case could be different than the Nevada and California cases because there has been a shift in the courts since Judge Amy Coney Barret has since been elected to the Supreme Court. The article concludes with remarks from Justice Alito talking about how the pandemic has affected our personal liberties “This is especially evident with respect to religious liberty,” he added. “It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right’” (Liptak) I think this article brings up a very valid point on how people feel their personal liberties are being taken away as a result of this pandemic. I think the pandemic is taking a toll on everyone in different ways and it’s easy to get frustrated with our elected officials when they take a lot of things away from us but I do believe that it’s for the better (hopefully). I understand why people can get frustrated, especially when it comes to places of worship being shut down or limited capacity. Our religions play a major role in our lives and it’s hard to not go to a place of worship and continue to practice religion. It makes me sad to know that most likely on Christmas my whole family want be able to go to church together but we know that it is the right decision to make to keep us all safe. Hopefully, in the next couple of months with a vaccine almost ready, we can start to get back to a normal lifestyle and we can appreciate the hard decisions our governors have made to try and protect us.
Elyse is a marketing and sports management major at Seton Hall University, Stillman School of Business, Class of 2023.
Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/us/supreme-court-coronavirus-cuomo.html