SCOTUS Watch: Future of Religious Clause Jurisprudence

There has been a lot of interesting actions outside of regular opinions (relatively unsurprising, including the three today, though RBG having two shows she was active during her time "off"), including today. Kavanaugh (with Alito and Gorsuch) agreed in not taking a case that denied preservation grants to religious buildings in particular, but flagged their interest in broadly defining equality in funding matters long term.

He (continually a blot on the Court and the U.S. Senate), however, noted special facts here and the value of letting the issue "percolate" in the lower courts some more. I continue to respect Sotomayor's dissent in the Trinity Lutheran case, but either way, surely government funding of a church is more controversial than playground funds! I also note an interesting article (h/t Religion Clause Blog, which has a lot of resources) entitled "Christian Legislative Prayers and Christian Nationalism." Also, this piece on the Peace Cross oral argument (the lower court opinion is also worth reading). Patent case also taken.

Also: One case had some interesting aspects, including the two most conservative justices on the side of the workers in dispute involving a relatively small sum but broader implications. The company argued (FN2) the overall solvency of the workers retirement system was at stake. The dissent also took a dig at "Chevron" deference, which wasn't really necessary to decide the matter here. Note the brief/filings link.