Liberty Counsel will file a petition for cert asking the Supreme Court to review the case of Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries in their federal lawsuit against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his unconstitutional executive orders discriminating against churches.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied the en banc petition requesting that the entire panel of judges review the case after a three-judge panel denied the preliminary injunction.
This decision now conflicts with the two 3-0 rulings Liberty Counsel obtained at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the Maryville Baptist Church. This also conflicts with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against a church on an emergency appeal. Thus, the Circuit Courts of Appeal are now split 2-2, which sets up an eventual case for Supreme Court review.
Contrary to some media reports, the Supreme Court has not issued a ruling on the merits of any church cases. The two emergency petitions for injunctions pending appeal did not have final decisions by the lower Court of Appeals. Now that there are clear conflicts with decisions by the courts of appeals, particularly between the Sixth and the Seventh Circuits, Liberty Counsel can now proceed with a petition for the Supreme Court to resolve the conflicts.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The pastors and the Romanian churches are resolved to continue to fight for religious freedom. This case and the conflicts now among the courts of appeal provide an excellent opportunity to ask the Supreme Court to review the case.”
