The Oregonian yesterday reported on federal district judge's ruling from the bench in Horizon Christian School v. State of Oregon, (D OR, Nov. 17, 2020) denying a preliminary injunction to three Christian schools challenging Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 executive order that limits the schools to remote instruction. According to the report:
Attorney John Kaempf, representing Horizon Christian School, McMinnville Christian Academy and Life Christian School, had urged the judge to halt the governor’s executive order and allow the three schools to reopen with in-person classes and proper safeguards in place.
He argued that gathering communally is a tenet of Catholic education, and not allowing the schools to hold in-person religious classes violates their freedom of religion and expression....
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman said he found it “utterly implausible,” that the governor’s motive behind her executive order was to shut down religious schools.
Previously the court had denied a temporary restraining order in the case. (See prior posting.)
