Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state governments have imposed multiple policies that infringe on constitutional rights in the name of protecting public health. Courts have routinely overlooked constitutional violations, deferring to government efforts to deal with the exigencies of the moment. Thankfully, judicial deference to state and federal diktats is ending.

In November, the Supreme Court in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo shot down New York’s occupancy restrictions on in-person worship that were more severe than limits on secular activities because they “strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.” The court had twice declined to block similar state restrictions on religious worship.