UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT

Everett McKinley Dirksen UnitedStatesCourthouse

 Room 2722 - 219 S. Dearborn Street

Chicago, Illinois 60604

Office of the Clerk

Phone: (312) 435-5850

www.ca7.uscourts.gov

ORDER

May 16, 2020

Before

FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge

MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge

DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge

No. 20-1811

ELIM ROMANIAN PENTECOSTAL CHURCH, et al., 

Plaintiffs - Appellants

v.

JAY R. PRITZKER, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of

Illinois, 

Defendant - Appellee

Originating Case Information:

District Court No: 1:20-cv-02782

Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

District Judge Robert W. Gettleman

The following are before the court:

1. PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS’ EMERGENCY MOTION FOR INJUNCTION

PENDING APPEAL AND TO EXPEDITE APPEAL, filed on May 15, 2020,

by counsel for the appellants.

2. BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION

OF CHURCH AND STATE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEES AND IN

OPPOSITION TO APPELLANTS’ EMERGENCY MOTION FOR

INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL, filed on May 16, 2020, by counsel for

amicus curiae.

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3. DEFENDANT-APPELLEE’S RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFFS’ EMERGENCY

MOTION FOR INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL AND TO EXPEDITE

APPEAL, filed on May 16, 2020, by counsel for the appellee.

4. PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS’ REPLY IN SUPPORT OF EMERGENCY

MOTION FOR INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL AND TO EXPEDITE

APPEAL AND ALTERNATIVE MOTION TO STRIKE RESPONSE, filed

on May 16, 2020, by counsel for the appellants.

IT IS ORDERED that plaintiffs-appellants’ emergency motion for an injunction

pending appeal, filed on May 15, 2020, is DENIED. Based on this court’s preliminary

review of this appeal for purposes of this motion, we find that plaintiffs have not shown a

sufficient likelihood of success on the merits to warrant the extraordinary relief of an

injunction pending appeal. The Governor’s Executive Order 2020-32 responds to an

extraordinary public health emergency. See generally Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11

(1905). The Executive Order does not discriminate against religious activities, nor does it

show hostility toward religion. It appears instead to impose neutral and generally

applicable rules, as in Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). The Executive

Order’s temporary numerical restrictions on public gatherings apply not only to worship

services but also to the most comparable types of secular gatherings, such as concerts,

lectures, theatrical performances, or choir practices, in which groups of people gather

together for extended periods, especially where speech and singing feature prominently

and raise risks of transmitting the COVID-19 virus. Worship services do not seem

comparable to secular activities permitted under the Executive Order, such as shopping, in

which people do not congregate or remain for extended periods. Further, plaintiffsappellants may not obtain injunctive relief against the Governor in federal court on the

basis of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. See Pennhurst State School & Hospital

v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89 (1984).

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiffs-appellants’ motion to expedite the

appeal is GRANTED. Briefing shall proceed as follows:

1. The brief and required short appendix of the appellants are due by

May 22, 2020.

2. The brief of the appellee is due by June 1, 2020.

3. The reply brief of the appellant, if any, is due by June 5, 2020.

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Oral argument will be set by separate order after briefing is completed.

IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that plaintiffs-appellants’ motion to strike is DENIED.

The defendant-appellee is GRANTED leave to file his overlength response, which was

prepared and filed in less than 12 hours in accordance with this court’s order.

Important Scheduling Notice !

Notices of hearing for particular appeals are mailed shortly before the date of oral argument. Criminal appeals are

scheduled shortly after the filing of the appellant's main brief; civil appeals after the filing of the appellee's brief. If you

foresee that you will be unavailable during a period in which your particular appeal might be scheduled, please write

the clerk advising him of the time period and the reason for such unavailability. Session data is located at

http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/cal/calendar.pdf. Once an appeal is formally scheduled for a certain date, it is very difficult

to have the setting changed. See Circuit Rule 34(e).

form name: c7_Order_3J(form ID: 177)

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