Andrew Cuomo Accuses SCOTUS Of Bias After Supreme Court Sides With Religious Groups In A Dispute Over Coronavirus Restrictions

Andrew Cuomo is calling out the Supreme Court for agreeing with religious organizations in a dispute over coronavirus restrictions he ushered in. The New York Governor deemed the SCOTUS ruling as an attempt to make a statement that it is a different court.

Cuomo argued that while the current dispute was still pending, he got rid of some of the restrictions he had put in place.

The case is the latest witnessing religious groups going toe-to-toe with city and state officials trying to restrict the spread of the coronavirus. Moreover, it is a reflection of Justice Amy Coney Barrett's presence on the court. This decision comes as COVID-19 cases surge across the United States.

While Barrett sided with her conservative colleagues for the late-night decision, Chief Justice John Roberts backed the three liberal justices in disagreement. Before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, the court split 5-4 into similar cases out of Nevada and California, with Roberts and liberals turning down the dispute against houses of worship.

The Supreme Court ruling was released before Thanksgiving eve. It features several different opinions and highly critical language.

The SCOTUS turned down an order by Cuomo in a 5-4 decision. The order restricted the size of religious gatherings in specific areas of New York where higher cases of COVID-19 have been recorded. The governor had restricted the capacity limits for houses of worship, including churches, to 10 to 25 people in those areas where the infection rates were climbing.

The decision seems to suggest that some government efforts to restrict the spread of the coronavirus pandemic had invaded protected freedom in the name of public health. If unrestricted religious observance and public safety were sometimes at odds, as the public officials and the governor claim, the court said that religious freedom should win, The New York Times reported.

Cuomo accused the Supreme Court of bias, claiming the ruling represented the presence of three conservative justices, who have been picked by President Donald Trump during his presidency. On Thursday, Cuomo blasted at Trump, saying they know who he appointed to the court, and are no stranger to their ideology.

In an unsigned opinion, the majority sided with Agudath Israel of America and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn that said the restrictions violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, CNN reported. They argued that the regulations were harsher for houses of worship as compared to secular facilities.