Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.68, dividing the state into color-coded zones based on infection rates. In "red zones," attendance at religious services was capped at 10 persons; in "orange zones," at 25 persons. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox Jewish organization, filed emergency applications with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the restrictions violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by treating houses of worship more harshly than comparable secular businesses. The Court, in a 5-4 per curiam decision, granted injunctive relief, holding that the applicants had made a strong showing that the restrictions were not neutral and generally applicable, and that they would suffer irreparable harm absent relief.

In a 5-4 per curiam decision issued on November 25, 2020, the Supreme Court granted the applications for injunctive relief, enjoining New York from enforcing Executive Order 202.68's 10- and 25-person occupancy limits on religious services pending appellate review. Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett formed the majority. Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented.

Whether New York's COVID-19 executive order, which imposed 10-person and 25-person occupancy limits on religious services in red and orange zones while allowing essential and some non-essential secular businesses to operate without fixed capacity caps, violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

The decision marked a significant turning point in the Supreme Court's religious liberty jurisprudence during the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing the Court's earlier deference to state public health restrictions on religious gatherings. It has been cited over 700 times, including 17 times by the Supreme Court, and signaled a new, more protective stance toward free exercise claims under the Court's reconfigured conservative majority following Justice Amy Coney Barrett's appointment.