Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Mark Miller, et al. v. City of Burien, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 25-1192 · judgment March 13, 2026
Certiorari denied · October 5, 2026
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
- When a church believes that it has a religious duty to “welcome the stranger” which requires it to allow its unhoused neighbors to live on its land, do either the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment prohibit a city from imposing a prior restraint on hosting the homeless by requiring the church to first secure a permit when the municipal permitting ordinance contains no objective criteria for determining whether to grant such a permit; places no limit on the amount of time it will take before the city makes a decision on whether to grant such a permit; and requires the Church to prove that its hosting of the homeless will not be “materially detrimental to the public welfare”?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
James Elliot Lobsenz
Carney Badley Spellman, P.S.
For respondent
Adam L. Rosenberg
Keller Rohrback L.L.P.
Case
Subject area
First Amendment (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Order
Order list, October 5, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 05 2026Petition DENIED.
- Aug 12 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
- Aug 07 2026Waiver of right of respondent City of Burien, et al. to respond filed.
- Jul 21 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 24, 2026)