Supreme Court Faces Another Appeal From Church Facing COVID-19 Restrictions | Eastern NC Now

Nicholas Rowan of the Washington Examiner highlights a First Amendment appeal to the nation’s highest court.

ENCNow
Publisher's note: The author of this post is Mitch Kokai for the John Locke Foundation.

    Nicholas Rowan of the Washington Examiner highlights a First Amendment appeal to the nation's highest court.

  • A Chicago church on Tuesday announced its intentions to appeal to the Supreme Court, following an unfavorable ruling from an Illinois federal appeals court upholding Gov. J.B. Pritzker's worship ban.
  • The church, Elim Romanian Pentecostal, has been embroiled in a legal war with Chicago and the state of Illinois since early May when it began opposing the 10-person limit on in-person services. Chicago police issued citations to members of the church after they persisted in defiance of Pritzker's and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's orders.
  • Cristian Ionescu, the church's pastor, told the Chicago Sun-Times at the time that the church was not engaged in "a rebellion for the sake of rebellion."
  • "We feel that we are discriminated against," Ionescu said. "We follow the same rules as other places that are also considered essential, and yet we cannot have more than 10 people in a service, which is ridiculous."
  • The case, if the Supreme Court accepts it, will be the first coronavirus church closure case to reach the highest court. Since May, the Supreme Court has rejected two emergency injunctions filed by churches in California and Nevada. Religious liberty experts speculate that these rejections, issued as 5-4 decisions with Chief Justice John Roberts as the swing vote, were delivered because of Roberts's dislike for granting injunctions in any circumstance.
  • But the case brought forward by Elim Romanian is different since it is not asking for an injunction, according to Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver, the head of the legal nonprofit group representing the church. By filing with the Supreme Court, he said, Liberty Counsel hopes to force the justices into resolving a now long-running dispute. Citing a decision against churches in California and a decision in favor of churches in Kentucky, Staver concluded that the Supreme Court is in a position to settle the issue definitively.

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published )
Enter Your Comment ( text only please )




Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Independence From Trump John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics FBI Capitulates on Andrew McCabe Text Messages After Adverse Federal Court Ruling


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Beaufort County residents deserve lower taxes and should demand them from government.
Cheryl Hines. Dennis Quaid. Nicki Minaj. All became associated with the Trump administration. What happened next?
"Pay no attention to the folks behind the curtain" was their preference but things are beginning to come to light.
Understanding how parties work is important for making informed decisions regarding elected officials.

HbAD1

Two years ago, new media brought President Trump back to the White House. What happened?
Victims’ advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and families impacted by violent crime gathered Tuesday at the North Carolina State Archives building in Raleigh to recognize National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and honor those affected by crime across North Carolina.
The POLITICO poll found that almost half of respondents think Hollywood players should "be less vocal with their political beliefs."
Provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan refuse to cooperate with federal gov.t

HbAD2

"They help cultivate a radical hate America agenda, and we can't afford that same toxic ideology in America's War Department.”
The attack comes amid a heightened concern over terror attacks after President Donald Trump launched "Operation Epic Fury" in Iran.

HbAD3

 
 
Back to Top