On May 22, 2020, a Nevada church filed this lawsuit against the Governor of Nevada, challenging the state’s restrictions on congregational worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, the church filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The case was assigned to Judge Larry R. Hicks; when he recused himself, the case was reassigned to Chief Judge Miranda M. Du, and later, based on relatedness to
Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain v. Sisolak, to Judge Richard F. Boulware, II.
In its complaint, the church alleged that the governor’s ban on gathering was unconstitutional. The governor had prohibited public gatherings of 10 or more people, including worship gatherings. However, numerous types of businesses were exempt, and allowed to operate at 50% capacity: restaurants, nail salons, barbershops, and others. When the church filed an amended complaint on May 28, 2020, the governor’s order had been amended: up to 50 people could gather to worship, but the list of businesses allowed to operate at 50% capacity had grown to include gyms, bars, swimming pools, museums, casinos, malls, and bowling alleys. For many of these businesses (particularly casinos), 50% capacity meant groups of several hundred. The church questioned the logic of allowing gatherings of hundreds at casinos in Las Vegas while restricting worship, under threat of criminal and civil penalties, in remote and rural Lyon County. (The Sheriff of Lyon County, also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, supported the church’s position of opposition to the governor’s statewide orders.)
Additionally, state officials had declined to enforce the gathering ban on large groups of police violence protestors; the governor had publicly supported and encouraged such protests. The church alleged that the facial non-neutrality of the orders, and the state’s inconsistent enforcement of those orders, amounted to a violation of the church’s First Amendment rights of assembly, speech, and free exercise. It sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
On May 28, 2020, after unsuccessful attempts to persuade the governor to amend his orders, the church filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, seeking to be allowed to gather on Sunday, May 31 for Pentecost Sunday. The court (Chief Judge Miranda M. Du) denied the motion the following day, concluding that it was unreasonable for the church to submit an emergency motion one business day before its desired meeting on Pentecost. The court also denied the church’s emergency motion for reconsideration. Two weeks later, on June 11, 2020, the court (now Judge Richard F. Boulware, II) denied the church’s motions for temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, finding that the church had not succeeded in demonstrating a likelihood of success on the merits. 2020 WL 4260438.
The church appealed to the Ninth Circuit on June 15, 2020, seeking an injunction pending appeal. The Ninth Circuit denied this motion on July 2. 2020 WL 4274901. The church then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, seeking an injunction while the appeal proceeded in the Ninth Circuit. The Supreme Court denied the request on July 24, 2020, over three dissents by four members of the court. 140 S. Ct. 2603. In one dissent, Justice Gorsuch stated that “The world we inhabit today, with a pandemic upon us, poses unusual challenges. But there is no world in which the Constitution permits Nevada to favor Caesars Palace over Calvary Chapel.”
The church’s appeal is pending in the Ninth Circuit.
Gregory Marsh - 08/08/2020
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