Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al. v. Adrienne A. Harris, Superintendent, New York Department of Financial Services, et al.
Paid petition · Court of Appeals of New York, No. 45 · judgment May 21, 2024
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 narrowly exempts certain religious organizations: tax-exempt entities that have the “purpose” of “inculcat[ing] … religious values” and that primarily “employ[]” and “serve[]” those of the same religious persuasion. Id. § 52.2(y). But religious organizations with broader religious missions, such as serving the poor, must cover abortions in their health plans. So too must religious organizations that employ or serve members of other faiths or no faith at all. The questions presented are:
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Whether a law is “neutral” and “generally applicable” under Employment Division v. Smith where it exempts certain religious organizations—but not others—based on narrow and subjective religious criteria unrelated to the law’s purpose, as New York and California hold, or whether such laws are subject to strict scrutiny under Smith, as the Second, Sixth, and D.C. Circuits hold.
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If the First Amendment permits such discrimination among religious organizations under the rule announced in Smith, should Smith be overruled?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day
For respondent
Barbara Dale Underwood
Solicitor General
Proceedings
- Jul 18 2025Judgment and Mandate Issued.
- Jun 16 2025Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Comm’n, 605 U. S. ___ (2025).
- Jun 11 2025Supplemental brief of respondents Adrienne A. Harris, Superintendent, et al. filed.
- Jun 09 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/12/2025.
- Jun 06 2025Supplemental brief of petitioners Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 24 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2025.
- Dec 23 2024Reply of petitioners Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 10 2024Brief of respondents Adrienne A. Harris, et al. in opposition filed.
- Nov 15 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 10, 2024.
- Nov 14 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 20, 2024 to December 10, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amicus curiae of The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty filed.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amici curiae of CompassCare Pregnancy Services, et al. filed.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amici curiae of Seven Legal Scholars filed.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amicus curiae of Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic filed.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amici curiae of Texas, et al. filed.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amici curiae of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, et al. filed.
- Oct 21 2024Brief amici curiae of the Bruderhof, et al. filed.
- Sep 27 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 20, 2024.
- Sep 26 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 21, 2024 to November 20, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 18 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 21, 2024)
- Jul 26 2024Application (24A90) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until September 18, 2024.
- Jul 22 2024Application (24A90) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 19, 2024 to September 18, 2024, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.