Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Spirit of Aloha Temple, a Hawaii Nonprofit Corporation, et al. v. Maui County, Hawaii, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 23-3453, 23-3633, 24-2096 · judgment March 28, 2025
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Ninth Circuit decision below, a business petitioner, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.
Question presented
Must a religious organization seeking to build a church prove that it is precluded from using other sites within a municipality’s jurisdiction and/or that the municipality’s reasons for denying a permit are arbitrary before it can establish that a zoning permit denial to use property as a church imposed a substantial burden on its religious exercise under RLUIPA, or should substantial burden be established by the totality of the circumstances? (i)
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Roman P. Storzer
Storzer and Associates, P.C.
For respondent
Sianha Michael Gualano
State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Dec 08 2025Petition DENIED.
- Nov 12 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/5/2025.
- Oct 28 2025Reply of petitioners Spirit of Aloha Temple, a Hawaii Nonprofit Corporation, et al. filed.
- Oct 14 2025Brief of respondent County of Maui, Hawaii in opposition filed.
- Sep 11 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including October 14, 2025. See Rule 30.1.
- Sep 10 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 29, 2025 to October 13, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 30 2025Brief amicus curiae of Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty filed.
- Jul 22 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including September 29, 2025. See Rule 30.1.
- Jul 21 2025Motion of County of Maui to extend the time to file a response from July 30, 2025 to September 28, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 02 2025Waiver of right of respondent Hawaii to respond filed.
- Jun 26 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 30, 2025)