Chula Vista, CA Pentecostal Parish Granted Expedited Appeal

Last week I posted on the case of the South Bay United Pentecostal Church suing California Gov Newsom for unconstitutional orders during the COVID pandemic in violation of religious rights. The initial petition for an injunction in federal court was denied by an Obama-appointed judge. Via the Thomas More Society,

The Thomas More Society filed an Urgent Motion for an Injunction Pending Appeal on May 16, 2020, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which the court has set on the fast track for quick decision.

. . . “It is significant that the Ninth Circuit set an expedited briefing schedule. It shows that they are taking our urgent appeal seriously,” stated Charles LiMandri, Special Counsel for the Thomas More Society and partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP. “If we win at the Ninth Circuit, then the most populous state in the union can start religious services again, and we will have vindicated our constitutional rights, and struck a blow against tyranny. If we lose at the Ninth Circuit, then we will have a split in the Federal Circuit Courts with the Sixth Circuit, and we will file an immediate emergency appeal with the United States Supreme Court. Either way, the outcome of this case stands to have a major potential impact on our religious liberty and our nation’s constitutional jurisprudence.”

. . . LiMandri has called California’s unconstitutional relegation of people of faith to third class citizenship “mindboggling.” He noted that “California is one of only eight states whose response to the COVID-19 pandemic has included no accommodation for – hardly even a mention of – the religious rights of its citizens.”

An even approximate schedule for reopening church services in most areas of California is not currently in the works.