Joseph Miller, et al. v. James V. McDonald, Commissioner, New York State Department of Health, et al.

New York has effectively prohibited the practice of the Amish faith within its borders. The Amish hold a sincere religious objection to vaccination. For more than 50 years, New York allowed religious exemptions to its school vaccine mandate. But as of 2019, it no longer does. This makes New York an outlier, as 45 other States (and the District of Columbia) allow religious exemptions to their school vaccine mandates. New York here imposed existential penalties on Old Order Amish schools for failing to require vaccines that would violate their faith. The Second Circuit invoked Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), to find that New York had not violated the Free Exercise Clause as applied to the Amish. This Court granted certiorari, vacated the Second Circuit’s opinion, and remanded in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor, 606 U.S. 522 (2025). But on remand, the Second Circuit doubled down, even with the benefit and guidance of Mirabelli v. Bonta, 607 U.S. 492 (2026). The questions presented are:

1. Whether, as applied to the Amish Petitioners, New York’s compulsion of permanent acts that are inconsistent with the religious beliefs and practices parents wish to instill in their children violates the Free Exercise Clause under Mahmoud.

2. Whether, as applied to the Amish Petitioners, New York’s refusal to allow religious exemptions to a law that allows secular exemptions and other comparable secular activity violates the Free Exercise Clause.

3. Whether Smith should be reconsidered.