The Department of Justice filed a brief requesting the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that blocked the man from suing his city after he was informed he could not host a prayer meeting in his home.
Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jew in University Heights, Ohio, wanted to host a prayer gathering in observance of Jewish religious obligations, although the city treated his event as an unpermitted “place of religious assembly” and sent him a cease-and-desist letter, Just the News reports.
Solicitor General John Sauer wrote to the Court that Grand suffered “concrete, particularized, and actual injuries sufficient to bring a ripe claim for retrospective relief, and his claim for prospective relief is likely ripe too.”
Describing the situation Grand faced, Sauer wrote that the city not only caused the man to “cancel his prayer group and imposing an objectively reasonable chill on religious exercise that is cognizable under Article III,” but “directed petitioner to apply for a permit costing $400; and they deployed an adversarial hearing procedure that required petitioner to retain counsel, even though comparable gatherings were allegedly not subject to those requirements.”
Grand’s lawyers previously told the Supreme Court on the matter, “If Grand’s next-door neighbor invited nine friends over for a weekly poker night or a Tupperware party, the city would not require a special permit to operate a ‘casino’ or ‘storefront.’ The city targets only Grand’s religious practice.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon wrote on X, “Local governments cannot unlawfully use zoning laws to stop small groups’ prayer in private homes. The [Civil Rights] Division will continue to enforce Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act to protect Americans’ right to free and peaceful exercise of religion.”
