Court won’t hear Nevada case

RENO, Nev. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused a rural Nevada church's request to enter a legal battle over the government's authority to limit the size of religious gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic — after the church won an appeals court ruling last month that found Nevada's restrictions unconstitutional.

Attorneys general from 19 other states had recently joined in support of the unusual request from Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley east of Reno.

They were urging the Supreme Court to rule on the merits of the Nevada case to help bring uniformity to various standards courts across the country have used to balance the interests of public safety and freedom of religion.

The church's lawyers said in a court filing last Thursday they wanted the high court to "clarify for all that the First Amendment does not allow govern-ment officials to use COVID-19 as an excuse to treat churches and their worshippers worse than secular establishments and their patrons."