1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i UPDATE: Banning Religious Assemblies to Stop the Spread of COVID-19 Updated June 1, 2020 Update: On May 29, 2020, the Supreme Court denied two petitions for certiorari appealing lower court decisions on g
2、athering bans in Illinois and California. The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Ninth Circuit had both affirmed preliminary rulings in favor of the government, rejecting churches requests for preliminary injunctions that would have prevented the two states from enforcing their order
3、s limiting mass gatherings. The Supreme Court denied the petition in the Illinois case, noting that the state had issued new guidance providing guidelines for worship services. In the California case, Chief Justice Roberts wrote an opinion concurring in the Courts one-sentence order denying the appe
4、al to explain why he believed the churches were not entitled to an injunction. In particular, he said that Californias restrictions on places of worship appeared “consistent” with the Free Exercise Clause because churches were being treated similarly to comparable secular gatherings. He also emphasi
