Breyer rejects Maine church's attempt to block Delta variant restrictions that don't exist

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 8/2/2021, 4:57 p.m.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer denied a request Monday from a Maine church that sought to block the state from …
Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on April 23, 2021. Mandatory Credit: ERIN SCHAFF/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Originally Published: 02 AUG 21 16:35 ET

Updated: 02 AUG 21 17:14 ET

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter

(CNN) -- Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer denied a request Monday from a Maine church that sought to block the state from enforcing or reinstating Covid restrictions in the wake of the Delta variant surge

Breyer acted without comment and declined to refer the church's petition to the full court for its consideration, suggesting there was not enough interest from his colleagues to step in.

Legal experts said that the church's emergency request might have been considered premature by the justices because the state hadn't actually implemented new restrictions related to the Delta variant and had stopped enforcing other restrictions in May as Covid cases declined.

The justices did not ask Maine to respond to the petition.

"The so-called Delta variant of the coronavirus and the threat of an unconstitutionally-motivated restriction," hangs over the Calvary Chapel of Bangor, Maine, "like a sword of Damocles," its lawyers argued in the petition.

At least 10 times during the pandemic, the Supreme Court entertained similar requests. Since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the justices often sided with houses of worship in similar disputes.

In the petition, Calvary Chapel's lawyers argued that the church remains "under constant threat" that the governor will reinstate restrictions.

"Although Gov. (Janet) Mills suspended the worst of her unconstitutional orders on May 24, 2021, her own public health officials' statements are raising concerns over the Delta variant of the coronavirus and its potential to impact Maine," the lawyers wrote.

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