Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Supreme Court Postpones Oral Arguments For Public Health Reasons

The U.S. Supreme Court announced yesterday that it is postponing oral arguments currently scheduled for it March session because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in the cases postponed are Tanzin v. Tanvir (availability of money damages under RFRA) and the consolidated arguments in two cases involving the scope of the Ministerial Exception doctrine (Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel). The Court's press release added:
The Court’s postponement of argument sessions in light of public health concerns is not unprecedented.  The Court postponed scheduled arguments for October 1918 in response to the Spanish flu epidemic.  The Court also shortened its argument calendars in August 1793 and August 1798 in response to yellow fever outbreaks.