Supreme Court Justices Show Sympathy for Missouri Church in State Aid Case
Supreme Court justices heard the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer on Wednesday and appeared to show sympathy for the church that was denied state funding because of its religious affiliation.
Trinity Lutheran Church, in Columbia, Missouri, reportedly applied for a state grant for the purpose of resurfacing its playground that is accessible to children in the community, regardless of whether they attend the church or not. The state, however, denied the application despite having a program that provides funding for this purpose.
Supreme Court justices hearing the case presented before them on Wednesday appeared to sympathize with the church, noting that the church was barred from enjoying the program simply because it is a religious institution, the Washington Post reported.
David A. Cortman, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing the church, told the court that the case was simply about the surface of the playground where kids play and religion shouldn't come into it.
"That doesn't enable any religious activity," he said.
James R. Layton, a lawyer for the state, said on the other hand that the clause in Missouri's constitution that prohibits the granting of taxpayer monies to any church, sect, or religion, simply means the state should not be "forced" to release money for Trinity Lutheran Church.
Layton, formerly a solicitor general for Missouri, told the justices that the state does not provide funding to any religious institution because it does not want to give the impression that it favors certain churches and that it helps churches improve their facilities. Layton's reasoning, however, did not resonate with most of the justices, an analysis on the SCOTUS Blog suggested.
Justices Samuel Alito Jr., Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and newly sworn-in justice Neil Gorsuch questioned the defense's logic of only barring religious groups from certain benefits.
"You're depriving one set of actors from being able to compete in the same way everybody else can compete, because of their religious identification," Justice Kagan told Layton, the Washington Post reported.
