In
Spell v. Edwards, (5th Cir., June 18, 2020), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed as moot a constitutional challenge to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards' COVID-19 order that restricted in-person church services to ten congregants. On June 5, the Governor issued a new order allowing churches to operate at 50% of capacity. Judge Ho concurred, but said that a future case might turn out differently. He said in part:
If protests are exempt from social distancing requirements, then worship must be too....
Such support for the protests reflects a commendable commitment to equality. But public officials cannot devalue people of faith while elevating certain protestors. That would offend the First Amendment—not to mention the principle of equality for which the protests stand.
