Local Church Argues Case Before Ninth Circuit In Case Which Could Again End Up in Supreme Court

Lawyers for a Pasadena church seeking an injunction that will allow the church to hold indoor services will once again present oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. 

Harvest Rock Church has argued in multiple court appearances that the church’s First Amendment rights are being violated. 

“Gov. Gavin Newsom’s discriminatory scheme against houses of worship violates the First Amendment. California’s oppressive measures against houses of worship must cease,” stated Harvest Rock attorney Matt Staver.

Newsom’s order does not bar church services. Churches are allowed to hold outdoor services and many churches have continued services via online platforms such as Zoom.

This is Harvest Rock’s second go-round in the Ninth Circuit. 

The court ruled 2-1 against the church in October.

In that ruling, the judges wrote that “In order to demonstrate that an injunction pending appeal is warranted, Harvest Rock must show that it is likely to succeed on the merits, that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in its favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.”

The church has been meeting indoors despite state and local health orders prohibiting indoor gatherings.

In a brief filed on Christmas Eve, the church said it is still “suffering immediate and irreparable harm every day from the city of Pasadena’s threat of criminal sanctions under the governor’s orders.”

The city issued a cease and desist letter in August threatening to fine the church and its parishioners if they refused to stop meeting.

Pastor Che Ahn promised to pay the fines of any member of the congregation if the city followed through on the letter, something it has not done so far.  

“It is the City of Pasadena [Criminal Prosecutor and Public Health Department] — under the color of the Governor’s Orders — that has explicitly threatened Harvest Rock Church with criminal sanctions for alleged violations of the Governor’s Orders,” Staver wrote.

“Moreover, it is not just Harvest Rock Church that has been threatened with criminal penalties and daily fines, it is also every pastor, staff member, visitor, and parishioner.”

The church has also contended that Newsom looked the other way when it came to demonstrators in California, some without masks or facial coverings, protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota.

If the Ninth Circuit rules against the church, the matter could again end up before the Supreme Court. 

In late November, the High Court ordered a lower court’s decision be vacated and the case sent back down to a district court. However, U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal ruled against the church for a second time in that hearing, prompting the appeal to the Ninth Circuit. 

“The First Amendment has not taken a sabbatical,” Bernal ruled in the second hearing. “Californians may still worship, attend services, pray, and otherwise exercise their religious freedoms. They just may not do so in ways that significantly increase the likelihood of transmission of a virus that has claimed more than 300,000 American lives in less than one year. The Constitution is not a suicide pact. The First Amendment may not be used to make it one.”