Justice Department files brief in Supreme Court case over religious gatherings at home

The Justice Department Tuesday filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that blocked a Jewish man from suing his city after he was told he could not host a prayer gathering in his private home.

Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jew in University Heights, Ohio, wanted to host a small home minyan, a quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain communal prayer services and religious obligations in Judaism, because his faith requires communal prayer and prohibits driving on the Sabbath and High Holidays. 

The city treated this as an unpermitted “place of religious assembly,” issued a cease-and-desist letter, and pressed zoning enforcement.

Grand sued, arguing the city's actions violated his First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Lower courts dismissed Grand's claims, arguing the case wasn't ripe because he had not obtained a zoning decision. 

In its brief, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division argues that the Sixth Circuit was wrong to throw out Daniel Grand’s First Amendment and RLUIPA claims. 

"Local governments cannot unlawfully use zoning laws to stop small groups’ prayer in private homes. The [Civil Rights] Division will continue to enforce Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act to protect Americans’ right to free and peaceful exercise of religion," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a post on X.