The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a Nevada church protesting Gov. Steve Sisolak's coronavirus worship restrictions.
This is the second time the court has rejected the case, Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak, since religious freedom advocates brought it forward this summer. The first time, the court decided not to give the church a temporary injunction against Sisolak's orders, which limited the number of people present at a church service to 50 or fewer.
After the rejection, a 5-4 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts as the deciding vote, the church's case became a rallying point for religious freedom advocates. Justice Samuel Alito, in his dissent, wrote that the court had failed the church by allowing Sisolak to restrict attendance to 50 people while at the same time opening casinos at 50% capacity.
"We have a duty to defend the Constitution, and even a public health emergency does not absolve us of that responsibility," he wrote, in support of the church's First Amendment claims.
Alito made the case the centerpiece of his speech at the conservative legal group the Federalist Society's 2020 gala, where he accused Nevada of "blatantly" disregarding the First Amendment. The Trump campaign also frequently referenced the case during events in Nevada, at one point enlisting Calvary Chapel to hold a prayer service in a casino — a jab at Sisolak's restrictions.
A Nevada court reversed Sisolak's orders in December, following a landmark decision from the Supreme Court allowing New York churches to gather in large numbers, contra Gov. Andrew Cuomo's orders. The court's changed attitude was motivated in part by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who, following her addition to the court, acted as the swing vote in the New York case.
Since the New York decision, the Supreme Court released orders favorable to churches in New Jersey, Colorado, and California.
