Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/19-123_g3bi.pdf
Page Number: 92

70 

FULTON v. PHILADELPHIA 

ALITO, J., concurring in judgment
ALITO, J., concurring in judgment 

In Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak, 591 U. S. ___ 
(2020), Nevada defended a rule imposing severe limits on
attendance at religious services and argued that houses of 
worship  should  be  compared  with  “movie  theaters,  muse-
ums, art galleries, zoos, aquariums, trade schools, and tech-
nical schools.”  Response to Emergency Application for In-
junction, O. T. 2019, No. 19A1070, pp. 7, 14–15.  Members 
of  this  Court  who  would  have  enjoined  the  Nevada  rule 
looked to the State’s more generous rules for casinos, bowl-
ing  alleys,  and  fitness  facilities.   591  U. S.,  at  ___–___ 
(ALITO, J., joined by THOMAS and KAVANAUGH, JJ., dissent-
ing) (slip op., at 6–7).

In  Roman  Catholic  Diocese  of  Brooklyn,  592  U. S.  ___, 
Justices in the majority compared houses of worship with
large retail establishments, factories, schools, liquor stores, 
bicycle repair shops, and pet shops, id., at ___ (slip op., at 
3); id., at ___ (GORSUCH, J., concurring) (slip op., at 2), id., 
at  ___  (KAVANAUGH,  J.,  concurring)  (slip  op.,  at  2),  while
dissenters cited theaters and concert halls, id., at ___ (opin-
ion of SOTOMAYOR, J., joined by KAGAN, J.) (slip op., at 2).

In Danville Christian Academy, Inc. v. Beshear, 592 U. S. 
___  (2020),  the  District  Court  enjoined  enforcement  of  an
executive order that compelled the closing of a religiously 
affiliated  school,  reasoning  that  the  State  permitted  pre-
schools, colleges, and universities to stay open and also al-
lowed attendance at concerts and lectures.  Danville Chris-
tian Academy, Inc. v. Beshear, ___ F. Supp. 3d ___, 2020 WL 
6954650, *4 (ED Ky., Nov. 25, 2020).  The Sixth Circuit re-
versed, concluding that the rule was neutral and generally 
applicable because it applied to all elementary and second-
ary schools, whether secular or religious.  Kentucky ex rel. 
Danville Christian Academy, Inc. v. Beshear, 981 F. 3d 505, 
509 (2020).
  Much  of  Smith’s  initial  appeal  was  likely  its  apparent 
simplicity.  Smith seemed to offer a relatively simple and
clear-cut rule that would be easy to apply.  Experience has