The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from reimposing strict attendance caps at worship services in areas hit hard by the novel coronavirus.
The court ruled 5-4 to bar Cuomo from enforcing his Oct. 6 “Cluster Initiative” against houses of worship that sued to challenge the restrictions.
The order was also the first in which Justice Amy Coney Barrett played a decisive role. Barrett, who was President Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee, joined the court Oct. 27, after winning Senate confirmation following the Sept. 18 death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberal wing in the dissenting opinion, which stated the court had acted rashly.
Cuomo’s initiative had created color-coded limits on mass gatherings and business operations, in an effort to stem the outbreak in New York City areas that were experiencing a surge in cases, according to Bloomberg News.
Comments are closed.