N.J. Exclusion of Churches from Broadly Available Historical Restoration Grants Violates Free Exercise Clause

So holds Judge Evelyn Padin (D.N.J.) in today’s Mendham Methodist Church v. Morris County. The court applies recent Supreme Court cases, such as Carson v. Makin (2022) and Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020), which hold that “a State violates the Free Exercise Clause when it excludes religious observers from otherwise available public benefits.” And it in the process rejects the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Freedom From Religious Foundation v. Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders (N.J. 2018), which interpreted the New Jersey Constitution as mandating such exclusion; FFRF, the court holds, is inconsistent with the more recent Espinoza and Carson cases.

This oversimplifies matters in some measure, but it should offer a good general summary. For more, see the full opinion. Mark M. Roselli of Roselli Griegel Lozier & Lazzaro, PC represents plaintiffs.

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