Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21a477_1bo2.pdf
Page Number: 7

4 

AUSTIN v. U. S. NAVY SEALS 1–26 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to stay the preliminary injunc-
tion,  but  the  Fifth  Circuit  refused  and  issued  a  detailed 
opinion.  27 F. 4th 336. 

The  Government  then  applied  to  this  Court  for  what  it
characterizes as a “partial stay,” and the Court now issues
a  stay  that  uses  precisely  the  language  that  the  Govern-
ment proposed.  As I will explain, the Court’s order essen-
tially gives the Navy carte blanche to warehouse respond-
ents  for  the  duration  of  the  appellate  process,  which  may
take  years.    There  is  no  justification  for  this  unexplained
and potentially career-ending disposition. 

II 
In  order  to  obtain  a  stay,  the  Government  must  show,
among other things, that it is likely to succeed in defeating 
respondents’  RFRA  and  free  exercise  claims,  Hilton  v. 
Braunskill, 481 U. S. 770, 776 (1987), and it cannot make 
that showing. 

A 
Under  the  clear  terms  of  RFRA,  all  components  of  the
Federal Government are forbidden to burden a person’s ex-
ercise of religion unless the Government can demonstrate
that  the  burden  represents  the  least  restrictive  means  of 
furthering a compelling interest.  42 U. S. C. §2000bb–1(b); 
Holt v. Hobbs, 574 U. S. 352, 357 (2015).  The Government 
does  not  claim  that  Article  II  imperatives  absolve  the 
Navy’s chain of command from complying with RFRA, and 
it concedes that the statute applies to the military.  Appli-
cation 28 (citing Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 573 
U. S.  682,  726–727  (2014)).  Indeed,  even  the  form  disap-
proval  letter  for  religious  accommodation  requests  in  the
District  Court  record  explains  that  RFRA  applies  to  the 
Navy, and it is the Navy’s position that “only those interests 
of  the  highest  order  can  overbalance  legitimate  claims  to 
the free exercise of religion.”  ECF Doc. 62, at 27–28.