On Wednesday, two Illinois churches appealed to the Supreme Court in a lawsuit for restrictions on the coronavirus cult of Governor J. B. , Pritzker.
Churches, Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries, argued in a complaint that Pritzker’s regulations on church skill facilities violated the Flexible First Amendment Training Clause by “discriminating against devout meetings” while allowing exemptions to businesses and demonstrations. The Court of Appeals has already ruled against the churches, but lawyers argue that because the ruling conflicts with other rulings in favor of the churches, the Supreme Court will have to intervene.
“This case and legal disputes provide an opportunity for the Supreme Court to interfere with and prevent this Abuse of the First Amendment,” said Mat Staver, the lawyer representing the churches, in a statement. In the spring, Staver’s group, Liberty Counsel, won victories for several other churches that resisted pandemic restrictions on worship.
Staver announced in July that he would appeal the Illinois case to the Supreme Court after a Nevada church and a California church unsuccessfully sought an initial court order from the court separately to conduct senior services that were before appeals courts.
In both cases, the rejections were five to four decisions with Supreme Court President John Roberts as a decisive vote. Roberts, in an opinion in one case, stated that he did not reject church appeals on the merits of his case, however, because he did not like the concept of issuing a court order, especially in cases evolving as a pandemic.
However, advocates for religious freedom told the Washington Examiner that they were confident that the court would rule in their favor if a coronavirus case were brought before them in the general course of events.