Supreme Court to hear case on home prayer gatherings and city permits

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in June to hear a case testing whether cities can require permits for religious gatherings held in private homes. The case stems from a 2021 dispute in University Heights, Ohio, where officials stopped an Orthodox Jewish man, Daniel Grand, from hosting a minyan, a prayer gathering of at least 10 men, at his house near Cleveland.

City officials issued Grand a cease-and-desist notice demanding he obtain a permit labeling his home a "place of religious assembly," and police were ordered to monitor the house. Grand withdrew his permit application after neighbors objected at a public hearing, and he later sued, backed by the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. Lower courts dismissed his case.

The justices will decide whether Grand can sue the city even though officials never formally denied his permit request, since he withdrew the application before it was reviewed. Grand's attorneys argue a ruling against him would let cities across the country block religious gatherings indefinitely by simply not acting on permit applications. The court's next term begins the first Monday in October, with no oral argument date set yet; a decision is expected by July 2027.

Read the full story at Deseret News.