VICTORY – COVID Church Litigation

Beginning with engaging on behalf of churches to allow “park and preach” events in March 2020, the firm was at the forefront of civil liberty issues at the beginning of the pandemic. Unlike heavily litigated cases in Kentucky and Mississippi, the firm was able to protect these events through demand correspondence short of litigation. However, in the days leading up to Easter Sunday in 2020, Governor Kelly issued an Executive Order limiting in-person gatherings at churches.

In conjunction with national partners, the firm filed suit in federal court on behalf of two small Baptist churches in First Baptist Church v. Kelly that resulted in an injunction being issued against Governor Kelly’s church shut down order. This was the first known instance nationally during the pandemic where in-person services were permitted through court order.