Late yesterday, the Thomas More Society posted news on its website of developments in the Grace Community Church case:
Attorneys for Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church prevailed in yet another hearing today in Los Angeles Superior Court, arguing that MacArthur and the Church are entitled to a full trial on the merits of their challenge to the constitutionality of the government shut-down orders and the preliminary injunction. Los Angeles County has sought to shut down the church and hold MacArthur in contempt, but Thomas More Society attorneys argued that a final determination on the constitutionality of the orders must occur before the county could seek contempt against MacArthur for merely holding church.However, a trial can't take place until sometime next year, when other issues may have been resolved by the time it takes place. Elsewhere,Liberty Counsel putlished an update on its website regarding another Los Angeles area church, Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena:Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff indicated that he agreed there are serious constitutional concerns that have not been fully tried, and he reiterated that his prior ruling on the preliminary injunction was not a decision on the merits regarding the constitutionality of those orders. Because a contempt hearing is a quasi-criminal proceeding, Beckloff agreed that MacArthur and Grace Community Church are entitled to constitutional protections at any such trial.
Thomas More Society Special Counsel Jenna Ellis explained, “This is significant because no person can or should be held in contempt of a constitutionally invalid order. Los Angeles County continues to presume that its order is valid, with utter disregard for First Amendment protections. It’s tyranny to even suggest that a government action cannot be challenged and must be obeyed without question. This case goes to the heart of what our founders designed for the purpose of legitimate government—not to be above the rule of law. Pastor MacArthur is simply holding church, which is clearly his constitutionally protected right in this country.”
Monday, I delivered oral argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals representing Harvest Rock Church and the 162 California churches affiliated with Harvest International Ministry against the outrageous church closure edicts of CA Gov. Gavin Newsom.Although most of the action in free-exercise cases has taken place in California, it's worth noting that a Washington, DC Baptist parish has also now filed suit to protect its right to worship:The hearing was on our emergency motion for an injunction pending the appeal. In the most basic terms, we are asking the court to STOP all of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional, illegal and discriminatory actions against churches until the court can hear the full merits of our case.
The three-judge panel who heard our case was hard to read. My presentation went well, but we don’t know how the court will rule. That preliminary ruling could come at any moment.
Regardless of what is decided on this emergency injunction, the court has fast-tracked the merits of the case for another hearing yet to be set. Our briefing on the merits of the case will be filed within the next week. After the state responds and we file a reply, I will return to the appeals court for the ultimate ruling on the merits.
A large, prominent evangelical Capitol Hill church late Tuesday filed a legal challenge to the District, alleging the city government is violating the First Amendment by facilitating and tolerating massive anti-racism protests but forbidding worship services — indoor or outdoor — of more than 100 because of covid-19.As I've said, we're working in the context of the Parable of the Persistent Widow here, but the court cases are hacking away st the constitutional basis for the lockdowns. I will be interested to see how much of Judge Stickman's opinion is now included in the briefs on behalf of these churches.The complaint filed by the 850-member Capitol Hill Baptist Church is the first legal challenge by a religious organization to the capital’s coronavirus restrictions. There have been two others in the region — one in Virginia and one in Maryland — since quarantine measures began, and final decisions are pending in both.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, challenges the city’s limits on worship generally, but asks specifically only for the right to meet outdoors. It notes that Bowser appeared at a huge anti-racism rally in June, that the city police have been assigned to such events and that her office has not enforced its own ban on outdoor gatherings of more than 50 people.
