U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (left) and Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. walk down the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court after holding an investiture ceremony for Gorsuch on June 15, 2017. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
In two COVID-related religion cases decided by a divided U.S. Supreme Court late Wednesday night, a dissenting Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., aligned with the court’s liberal wing, rebuked Justice Neil Gorsuch for his characterization of the dissenters as “cutting the Constitution loose during a pandemic.”
Roberts, in a three-page dissent, appeared irritated by the language Gorsuch used in his opinion concurring in the 5-4 majority’s decision. The ruling permitted emergency injunctions to block a New York state order imposing capacity restrictions on houses of worship in zones showing surging cases of the COVID-19 virus.
