Legacy Church, Inc. v. Kunkel

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary Kathyleen M. Kunkel of the New Mexico Department of Health (New Mexico) (defendant) issued a public health emergency order requiring all nonessential businesses to close and prohibiting mass gatherings. The order defined mass gatherings as the gathering of at least five individuals in a confined space. The order exempted places of worship from the restriction. However, on April 11, 2020, the day before Easter Sunday, New Mexico issued a new order requiring churches, synagogues, mosques, and all other places of worship to adhere to the restriction. New Mexico claimed that it had tried to exempt places of worship but was compelled to pass the new order after the continued transmission of COVID-19 and after receiving notice that many churches planned to hold in-person services for Easter. On April 14, Legacy Church (Legacy) (plaintiff) sought a temporary restraining order in federal district court prohibiting New Mexico from enforcing the order. Legacy claimed that the order violated its free-exercise rights pursuant to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. New Mexico argued that the order was a constitutional use of its police powers and did not violate the First Amendment, because it was a neutral and generally applicable order and passed rational-basis review. However, Legacy argued that the order was not neutral because it specifically targeted places of worship and, therefore, was required to pass strict-scrutiny review. To establish whether a temporary restraining order was warranted, the district court considered the likelihood of Legacy succeeding on its First Amendment challenge.