The Supreme Court released surprise orders Wednesday morning, agreeing to hear two little-known but important religious liberty cases. The cases will be argued together this upcoming spring, and the justices will rule on the “ministerial exception,” a legal doctrine that keeps courts from interfering in how religious employers hire, fire, or otherwise treat their religious employees.

Two Catholic schools based in California are challenging federal court rulings. In both cases, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James Catholic School v. Biel, teachers sued these religious schools after their contracts were not renewed. Becket is defending these two religious-based schools and their right to choose ministers that represent their particular faith without government intrusion.