WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ordered lower federal courts in Colorado and New Jersey to reexamine state restrictions on indoor religious services to combat the coronavirus in light of the justices' recent ruling in favor of churches and synagogues in New York.
According to NBC News, the judges ruled 6-3 in the case brought by High Plains Harvest Church in Colorado to send back to the lower courts, where the church previously lost.
According to the Associated Press, Colorado said it took action and amended a public health order "to remove capacity limits from all houses of worship at all times in response to this Court's recent decisions."
In a brief dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that should have settled the issue because "there is no reason to think Colorado will reverse course—and so no reason to think Harvest Church will again face capacity limits."
In the New Jersey case, the Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the state's application of COVID-19 restrictions that apply to religious settings, granting an injunction sought by a Catholic priest at a church in North Caldwell rabbi at a synagogue in Lakewood, NBC News reported.
The high court's unsigned decisions Tuesday threw out federal district court rulings that rejected challenges to limits imposed in both states.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that New York could not enforce certain limits on attendance at churches and synagogues.
No justice noted a dissent from the New Jersey decision, the AP reported.
