Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Calvary Chapel San Jose, et al. v. California, et al.
Paid petition · Court of Appeal of California, Sixth Appellate District, No. H051860 · judgment April 15, 2025
(petition-stage, structural)
Well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
At issue in this case is the ability of government to referee religious services in a house of worship. Government officials in California imposed COVID rules governing any “business,” which was defined to include churches. These rules – governing such matters as social distancing, masking, and capacity ceilings – contained multiple exemptions, but did not allow Petitioners Calvary Chapel San Jose and Pastor Mike McClure to conduct religious services in accord with their religious beliefs. County officials sought injunctive relief and contempt sanctions for the church’s noncompliance (both of which were overturned in prior proceedings), then sought nearly three million dollars in fines. The state courts upheld fines in excess of a million dollars. The four questions presented are:
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Do COVID restrictions that contain multiple exceptions, exceptions permitting comparable risks of viral transmission, trigger strict scrutiny under Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), because they are not “generally applicable”?
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Should this Court hold that the church autonomy doctrine, which provides an exception to Smith, includes not just a “ministerial exception” but also a “liturgical exception”?
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If Smith does not require strict scrutiny in this case and does not include a liturgical exception, but instead allows governments to micromanage religious services, should this Court overrule Smith as incompatible with a proper reading of the Free Exercise Clause?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Jay Alan Sekulow
American Center for Law and Justice
For respondent
Robin Michael Wall
Office of the County Counsel
Proceedings
- Apr 08 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/24/2026.
- Apr 07 2026Reply of petitioners Calvary Chapel San Jose, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 19 2026Brief of respondents California, et al. in opposition filed.
- Feb 04 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 19, 2026, for all respondents.
- Feb 03 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 17, 2026 to March 19, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jan 16 2026Brief amicus curiae of Alliance Defending Freedom filed.
- Jan 16 2026Brief amici curiae of Advancing American Freedom, et al. filed.
- Jan 16 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Religious Broadcasters filed.
- Jan 16 2026Brief amici curiae of West Virginia, et al. filed.
- Jan 16 2026Brief amicus curiae of Robertson Center for Constitutional Law filed.
- Jan 15 2026Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
- Jan 15 2026Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Justice Institute filed.
- Dec 22 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 17, 2026.
- Dec 19 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 16, 2026 to February 17, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Dec 12 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 16, 2026)
- Sep 30 2025Application (25A366) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until December 13, 2025.
- Sep 25 2025Application (25A366) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from October 14, 2025 to December 13, 2025, submitted to Justice Kagan.