A California judge ordered a San Jose church Wednesday night to pay $1.2 million for violating mask and social distancing mandates during COVID-19.
. . .“We believe Judge Pennypacker’s decision to enforce $1.2 million in fines violates the United States Constitution,” said Mariah Gondeiro, Vice President of Advocates for Faith and Freedom, the law firm representing the church. “We have already prevailed twice on appeal in this case, and we believe we will successfully overturn these illegal fines.”
In August 2022, California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling ordering the church to pay $200,000 in contempt of court fines based on the Supreme Court’s decision that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban on indoor worship services was a violation of religious freedom.
. . .The church intends to appeal the decision to California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal, according to a press release.
Katelynn Richardson | “California Court Orders Church To Pay $1.2 Million For Violating COVID Lockdown” | April 13, 2023
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“Judge Pennypacker”?!
Aptly named
I see that the judge has been reversed twice already in matters relating to this case. It’s hard to believe that she is really that slow a learner, so we are casting about for other explanations of her consistent hard line against a church…
She sounds like a character in a Dickens novel! 🙂