Pastor Spell has won his case before the Louisiana Supreme Court. He appealed two years ago after he was arrested for violating the Governor's emergency covid order requiring churches to all-but-shot-down. As the case worked its way through the appellate system, it finally made its way to the Louisiana Supreme Court, where the pastor's rights were upheld. In a 5-2 ruling, the Court said, in part:
A public health emergency does not relegate the First Amendment to a proposition or allow violations thereof to be judged on a sliding scale of constitutionality. The infringement of the fundamental right of the free exercise of religion, whether in times of crisis or calm, must always be strictly scrutinized by our courts.”
The Court's formal ruling can be read here.
This ruling is just one of several that hammers a spike into the Governor's public health emergency orders. I understand that the pastor is going to start suing the agencies that tried to shut him down. They cannot hide behind the Governor's public health order as it has been ruled unconstitutional. I wish him all the luck. Our individual rights are too important.
4 comments:
Yay!!! Glad to hear it!
Who were the two idiots that voted against it? That should have been 7-0. I think the Majority opinion is spot on. "No Law" means NO LAW!
While I am glad, any money paid out to him as awards will come from the taxpayers of Louisiana, not out of John Bell's personal bank funds.
Unfortunately true. Maybe he should win a giant payment and give up most of it on condition the governor goes.
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