by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Worthy News) – The Justice Department has stepped into a major Supreme Court religious-liberty case, urging the justices to allow an Ohio man to pursue constitutional claims after local officials sought to stop him from hosting prayer gatherings in his private home.
The case, Grand v. City of University Heights, involves Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jewish resident who invited a small group of men to his home for Sabbath prayer. City officials issued a cease-and-desist order, telling Grand that using his home as a religious gathering place was prohibited without a special-use permit. According to the DOJ filing, Grand canceled the gathering after officials threatened legal action.
The Justice Department filed an amicus brief supporting Grand, arguing that the lower courts wrongly prevented his First Amendment and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act claims from moving forward simply because he had not completed the city’s zoning process. The DOJ said Grand had already suffered concrete injury when officials halted the prayer gathering, required him to pay a $400 permit fee and forced him into a special zoning process.
The dispute could have implications far beyond one Ohio neighborhood. Home Bible studies, prayer meetings, small groups and other religious gatherings are commonplace across the United States, and the case could help clarify how far local governments may go in applying zoning regulations to religious activity inside private residences.
The Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the case and has scheduled oral arguments for December 9.
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