Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops v. David O'Connell
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 23-7173 · judgment April 25, 2025
Before the decision, about 3.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, a D.C. Circuit decision below, and counsel who has filed here before.
Questions presented
For over 1,000 years, Catholics have given an annual offering to the Pope called Peter’s Pence. A parishoner claims he was misled during Mass by an invitation from the pulpit that imprecisely described the Pope’s use of Peter’s Pence. He sued the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, seeking discovery into the donors to, uses of, and internal deliberations about Peter’s Pence. He requests an injunction restraining how the Church describes and uses the offering, and a refund for himself and a class of millions of donors. The Bishops moved to dismiss under the Religion Clauses’ church autonomy doctrine. The district court refused, holding the dispute could be resolved under the “neutral principles” approach developed for church property disputes. The D.C. Circuit dismissed the Bishops’ interlocutory appeal, concluding that church autonomy provides only a defense against liability, not a structural immunity from suit, and that the “neutral principles” approach avoided “any violations” of church autonomy. The questions presented are:
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Whether church autonomy provides a structural limit on state power that protects churches from the burdens of litigating unconstitutional claims.
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Whether a church may immediately appeal a dispositive church autonomy defense that was denied on legal grounds.
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Whether the “neutral principles” approach applies outside the church property context to a dispute over a church’s description and use of an offering that was used solely for religious purposes.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Daniel Howard Blomberg
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
For respondent
Gabriel Zachiah Doble
Dovel & Luner, LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 4 conferences
Amicus briefs
15 cert-stage
Proceedings
- May 26 2026Petition DENIED. Justice Jackson took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition. See 28 U. S. C. §455 and Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Canon 3B(2)(e) (prior judicial service).
- May 18 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/21/2026.
- May 11 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/14/2026.
- May 11 2026Rescheduled.
- Apr 29 2026Rescheduled.
- Apr 16 2026Reply of petitioner United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed. (Distributed)
- Apr 15 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/1/2026.
- Apr 09 2026Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.
- Apr 03 2026Brief of respondent David O'Connell in opposition filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of J. Reuben Clark Law Society filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of Aleph Institute filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amici curiae of Major Religious Organizations, et al. filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amici curiae of The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, et al. filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of Protect the First Foundation filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amici curiae of Law & Religion Scholars filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Anglican Church in North America filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of Professor Derek T. Muller filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of John H. Garvey filed.
- Mar 06 2026Brief amicus curiae of Belmont Abbey College filed.
- Mar 05 2026Brief amici curiae of Missouri, et al. filed.
- Mar 04 2026Brief amici curiae of Four Religious Organizations filed.
- Feb 20 2026Brief amicus curiae of Professor Lael Weinberger filed.
- Feb 19 2026Brief amici curiae of Former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission General Counsel, et al. filed.
- Feb 11 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 3, 2026.
- Feb 09 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 6, 2026 to April 3, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Feb 04 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
- Feb 04 2026Response Requested. (Due March 6, 2026)
- Feb 02 2026Waiver of right of respondent David O'Connell to respond filed.
- Jan 23 2026Brief amici curiae of Christian Legal Society, et al. filed.
- Jan 13 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 17, 2026)