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The ruling, which comes less than three weeks after the country ordered places of worship to remain shut\u00a0in defiance of a previous US Supreme Court ruling allowing indoor religious services<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a025% capacity<\/a>, stems from a November lawsuit brought against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), the county, and County Health Officer Sara Cody.<\/p>\n The new ruling by a 6-3 vote requires indoor worship services to resume at 20% capacity in the county, tossing an “erroneous decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (located in San Francisco).<\/p>\n “This outcome is clearly dictated by this court\u2019s decision in the South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom,” reads the Supreme Court decision.<\/p>\n The churches are San Jose\u2019s Gateway City Church and The Spectrum Church, Campbell\u2019s The Home Church and Orchard Community Church, and Morgan Hill\u2019s Trinity Bible Church. They have argued\u00a0the county has lacked scientific backing to justify its ban on indoor worship services and that it is unlawfully denying the churches\u2019 rights to peacefully assemble and freely exercise their religion<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n Following the high court\u2019s lifting of California\u2019s statewide ban on indoor religious services, Santa Clara County argued that it was not subject to the ruling because it prohibited all indoor gatherings \u2014 regardless of whether they\u2019re related to religion \u2014 rather than instituting a specific ban on indoor religious services.<\/em><\/p>\n Shortly after, the five Santa Clara County churches filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to attempt to block the county\u2019s ban, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling must apply to the county. A U.S. district court judge\u00a0granted an injunction to temporarily block the county\u2019s ban<\/a>\u00a0on indoor worship services.<\/em><\/p>\n But in an abrupt reversal less than two days later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit temporarily suspended the order,<\/strong>\u00a0concluding that the county\u2019s prohibition on all indoor gatherings \u2014 including indoor religious services \u2014\u00a0could remain in place for the time being.<\/a>\u00a0–Mercury News<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n “The Supreme Court order was issued without any analysis at all of the County\u2019s gathering rules, which have always been neutral and applied equally to all gatherings across-the-board<\/strong>,” said attorney James Williams, counsel for Santa Clara County. “Indoor gatherings of all kinds remain very risky, and we continue to urge all religious institutions to carefully follow the public health recommendations to avoid spread of COVID-19 among their congregations and the broader community.”<\/p>\n Bishop Oscar Cant\u00fa disagrees, saying that he joins “all Catholics and people of faith in Santa Clara County in expressing our satisfaction,” adding in a Friday night statement: “Banning indoor worship and yet allowing people to gather at airports, personal services establishments, and retail shopping is unconstitutional \u2014 and the Supreme Court has said so several times.”<\/p>\n