Washington: With new Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s vote, the US Supreme Court has blocked coronavirus restrictions imposed on religious services in New York state, backing Christian and Jewish houses of worship in infection hot spots.
The court, on a 5-4 vote, granted requests made by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations.
The order marked one of the first consequential actions on the court of President Donald Trump’s new conservative appointee, who cast a deciding vote in favour of the religious groups. Republican appointee Chief Justice John Roberts dissented along with the court’s three Democrat appointees.
A decision by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on October 6 shut down non-essential businesses in targeted areas where infections have spiked, including some Brooklyn neighbourhoods. It limited gatherings at religious institutions to 10 people in some areas and 25 in others.
The houses of worship say that the limits violated religious freedoms protected by the US constitution’s First Amendment, and that their facilities were singled out for more stringent restrictions than essential businesses, such as food stores. The Orthodox congregations were Agudath Israel of Kew Garden Hills and Agudath Israel of Madison, as well as nationwide Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America.
Read the article by Lawrence Hurley in The Age.