A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied a county request for an injunction to stop a Sun Valley church from holding indoor services in violation of county and state health orders to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
In the latest chapter of what has become a protracted legal battle between Los Angeles County officials and Grace Community Church, led by prominent Pastor John MacArthur, Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ruled Tuesday, Aug. 25, that the county’s arguments in support of a temporary restraining order were both procedurally and substantively defective.
On Aug. 14, county officials sought an injunction against the church seeking to prohibit indoor services. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant denied that request, while requiring those attending the indoor services to wear face coverings and practice physical distancing.
Later that day, county officials asked the state Court of Appeal to issue an emergency temporary restraining order to prohibit the megachurch from holding indoor services. On Aug. 15, the appellate court stayed the trial court’s order, essentially prohibiting indoor services until a Sept. 4 preliminary hearing on the matter. But the church held a service indoors very next day without distancing or masks.
But Judge Beckloff said in his decision that the appellate court did not change the trial court’s Aug. 14 decision, but merely delayed its enforcement. He said the church’s violation on Aug. 16 was not a new circumstance because it had been holding indoor services in violation of health laws since July 26. Beckloff also said there was no need for a restraining order now because county officials already have the power to enforce county and state health orders on their own.
“(County officials) have elected not to punish (the church’s) alleged violation of the county health order ‘by fine, imprisonment, or both’ in an attempt to obtain compliance,” he said.
County disappointed
In a statement, county officials said they are disappointed by the court’s decision to deny their request for a temporary restraining order.
“We look forward to a favorable ruling when a full hearing is heard on the matter on Sept. 4,” officials said, adding that the county order prohibiting indoor gatherings such as protests and religious services remains valid and in effect.
Grace Community Church’s attorneys, affiliated with the Thomas More Society, filed a declaration in court Aug. 23 speaking up against the county’s repeated attempts to shut down indoor services.
“Our church is not an event center,” MacArthur said in the declaration. “It is a family of lives who love and care for each other in very intensely personal ways. … The utter unnecessary deprivation of all our people by completely shutting down the mutual love and care that sustains our people in all the exigencies, pressures and challenges of life, was cruel.”
Church leaders and congregants see no real health threat to warrant an enforcement action, he said.
“We see this action against us as an illegitimate misuse of power,” MacArthur said.
A preliminary hearing on this matter has been scheduled in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 4.
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Judge denies injunction seeking to shut down indoor services at Sun Valley church - LA Daily News
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