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Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al. v. Shirin Emami, Acting Superintendent, New York Department of Financial Services, et al.
Paid petition · Appellate Division, Supreme Court of New York, Third Judicial Department, No. 529350 · judgment July 2, 2020
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
In 2017, New York promulgated a regulation mandating that employer health insurance plans cover abortions. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 11, § 52.16(o). The regulation provides an exemption for certain religious organizations: tax-exempt entities that have the “purpose” of “inculcat[ing] … religious values” and primarily “employ[]” and “serve[]” those of the same religious persuasion. Id. § 52.2(y). But religious organizations that have a broader purpose, such as serving the poor, or that employ or serve members of other faiths or no faith, must cover abortions in their health plans. The questions presented are:
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Is New York’s mandate, which burdens a subset of religious organizations by forcing them to cover abortions, “neutral” and “generally applicable” under Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), and Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993)?
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Does New York’s mandate interfere with the autonomy of religious entities, in violation of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment?
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If, under the rule announced in Smith, the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment allows states to demand that religious entities opposing abortions subsidize them, should Smith be overruled?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day
For respondent
Barbara Dale Underwood
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 4 conferences
Amicus briefs
6 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Dec 03 2021MANDATE ISSUED.
- Dec 03 2021JUDGMENT ISSUED.
- Nov 01 2021Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Fulton v. Philadelphia, 593 U. S. ___ (2021). Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, and Justice Gorsuch would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari.
- Oct 25 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/29/2021.
- Oct 12 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/15/2021.
- Oct 04 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/8/2021.
- Sep 08 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
- Sep 03 2021Reply of petitioners Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 03 2021Letter pursuant to Rule 35.3 of Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al. submitted.
- Aug 23 2021Brief of respondent Linda A. Lacewell; NY State Department of Financial Services in opposition filed.
- Jun 15 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including August 23, 2021.
- Jun 14 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 28, 2021 to August 23, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- May 27 2021Brief amici curiae of Eight Legal Scholars filed.
- May 27 2021Brief amici curiae of States of Texas, Alabama, et al. filed.
- May 27 2021Brief amici curiae of The Bruderhof, et al. filed.
- May 26 2021Brief amici curiae of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, et al. filed.
- May 25 2021Brief amici curiae of Jewish Coalition For Religious Liberty filed.
- May 25 2021Brief amicus curiae of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Inc. filed.
- May 10 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 28, 2021.
- May 07 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 27, 2021 to June 28, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Apr 23 2021Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 27, 2021)