Jewish man ordered to have permit before hosting at-home prayer gatherings takes Ohio city to SCOTUS
The plaintiff argues that the city's permit requirement unlawfully burdened his ability to host religious gatherings in his own home.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether an Ohio city violated an Orthodox Jewish man's constitutional rights by requiring him to obtain a permit before hosting a prayer gathering in his home.
According to a June 30 press release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), city officials ordered Daniel Grand to stop hosting a prayer gathering in his University Heights home in 2021 unless he first obtained a special-use permit required for houses of worship in residential neighborhoods.
Grand initially applied for the permit but later withdrew his application after determining that approval would require converting his home into a house of worship, preventing him and his family from continuing to live there. He then filed a lawsuit challenging the city's actions, according to ADF.
Neighbors opposed Grand's permit application by submitting letters to the city, including one that stated, "I am not Jewish, and I do not want our neighborhood labeled as Jewish."
The city later held a public hearing on the application, which ADF said was marked by hostility toward Jewish religious practice.
The release said city officials also ordered police to monitor his home, encouraged neighbors to report visitors, withheld his certificate of occupancy and tax abatements, and took other actions that ADF says targeted him because of his religious practice.
A federal district court dismissed Grand's lawsuit, ruling he first had to complete the permitting process before pursuing his constitutional claims. An appellate court upheld that decision. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed June 30 to hear the case and will now decide whether Grand's lawsuit may proceed.
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