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The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from reimposing strict attendance caps at worship services in areas hit hard by the novel coronavirus.  The court ruled 5-4 to bar Cuomo from enforcing his Oct. 6 “Cluster Initiative” against houses of worship that sued to challenge the restrictions. (Aaro, 11/26)

The Supreme Court signaled a major shift in its approach to coronavirus-related restrictions late Wednesday, voting 5-4 to bar New York state from reimposing limits on religious gatherings. The emergency rulings, issued just before midnight, were the first significant indication of a rightward shift in the court since President Donald Trump’s newest appointee — Justice Amy Coney Barrett — last month filled the seat occupied by liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. (Gerstein, 11/26)

In a Supreme Court ruling just before midnight on Thanksgiving eve, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned another of her fiery dissents—this time warning, in her view, of the dangers of the Court’s majority position on New York State’s Covid-19 restrictions. (Reyes, 11/26)

The Supreme Court’s order temporarily blocking New York from setting coronavirus capacity limits at houses of worship is “irrelevant” and “moot,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo claimed Thursday. ... Cuomo, in a Thanksgiving Day conference call with reporters, insisted the order was moot because the houses of worship in question in the curt battle are no longer in designated red and orange zones in Brooklyn in Queens so the restrictions no longer apply to them. (Campanile, Hogan and Hicks, 11/26)

Pandemic restrictions on places of worship in Massachusetts won’t run afoul of a US Supreme Court ruling this week that barred certain capacity limits on religious gatherings in areas of New York where coronavirus infections were rising, according to legal scholars and Governor Charlie Baker’s office. “The administration believes the Supreme Court decision is consistent with the way Massachusetts is working with our houses of worship during the pandemic,” Baker spokeswoman Sarah Finlaw said in an e-mail. (Pan and Finucane, 11/27)

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito denied a Louisiana pastor's legal petition requesting an exemption from state restrictions effected in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Reverend Tony Spell—who currently faces a half-dozen misdemeanor charges for violating Louisiana's COVID-19 orders and an assault charge for alleged conduct during a protest last spring—filed his petition in Louisiana over the summer. After multiple rejections, Spell's attorneys brought his case before the Supreme Court. (Czachor, 11/29)