Judge rules against church
He says Calvary Chapel is in contempt for defying COVID-19 safety orders
SAN JOSE >> A Santa Clara County judge found a San Jose church in contempt of court Tuesday for defying county- ordered COVID-19 capacity and safety directives, a rebuke that brought an immediate promise from the church that they would continue the legal fight over such restrictions.
Calvary Chapel San Jose will be fined $1,500 per violation and $1,000 per violating event spanning to a 22- day period between Nov. 2, when the county obtained a temporary restraining order against the church, and Nov. 24, when that order was modified, according to a ruling by Judge Peter Kirwan. Last week, Kirwan granted a preliminar y injunction against the church, paving the way for Tuesday’s contempt hearing.
An exact total for the contempt fines was not immediately available, but the church had already been fined over $350,000 before the first restraining order was issued. In articulating his ruling, Kirwan said he took no satisfaction in the contempt finding and deemed it necessary to secure public health, as the Bay Area and California continue to break infection records, which combined with grave concerns about the availability of intensive- care beds has spurred a stricter round of stay-athome orders and indoor capacity limits.
“You can’t just ignore those regulations, or ignore a court order, to comply with those rules and regulations because you don’t believe them,” Kirwan said. “Until that’s ad
judicated, you’re expected to conform to them, and you just can’t ignore them.”
Robert Tyler, one of the lead attorneys for Calvary Chapel and Pastor Mike McClure, said he plans to appeal the contempt finding, in addition to the fines. A primary component of his argument in court Tuesday, besides restating his client’s First Amendment worship protections, was to assail the validity of the county health orders limiting indoor capacity by citing the U. S. Supreme Court’s ruling late last month blocking New York state’s capacity restrictions on houses of worship.
But Kirwan said that ruling did not directly apply to the Calvary situation, and along with deputy county counsel Melissa Kiniyalocts noted that the Supreme Court case found evidence that churches and synagogues were being singled out, and were otherwise adhering to other safety protocols including mask-wearing and physical distancing.
Ty ler a nd Mc C lu r e emerged from the Old Courthouse in downtown San Jose to the cheers of more than 100 sign-waving supporters, just a few among them wearing masks. Besides signaling his intent to appeal, Tyler told the crowd that he had secured a Dec. 17 hearing
in federal court to effect a change of jurisdiction on the matter.
“It’s just a tragedy of justice, to be frank,” Tyler said.
As he did in the courtroom moments earlier, Tyler strongly criticized the county counsel’s reference to a water baptism being one of the documented violations of COV ID-19 protcols.
“I can’t believe that we’re at a point in time in society where here we have governmental officials talking about how we need to be baptizing people,” Tyler said. “It’s shocking.”
McClure did not give any indication to his supporters that he would be changing course, instead restating his religious mission.
“Thank you all for your prayers. I’m just here because I want to help people,” he said. “We recognize the needs here are not just of physical body, but … there’s more than just they physical, there’s the mental, the emotional, there’s the spiritual.”
Kirwan was also not swayed by Tyler’s reference to the U. S. Supreme Court ordering a California district court to re- evaluate its ruling regarding a Pasadena church that sought to block worship restric