U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ ALM)

Lawyers for California urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday night to uphold the state's pandemic-era ban on large religious gatherings.

In a filing submitted to Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the state's attorneys said the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista "failed to demonstrate any substantial, impending injury" in its request to immediately lift San Diego County's order capping attendance at places of worship to 25% of a building's capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower.

The county's order was based on guidance issued May 25 by Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration.

"The church typically holds three to five Sunday services with each 'normally bring[ing] in between 200 to 300 congregants,'" the attorneys argued in an opposition brief signed by Deputy Solicitor General Samuel Harbourt. "Plaintiffs point to nothing preventing them from 'offering additional meeting times' if necessary to accommodate all congregants—just as the new guidance encourages and plaintiffs' own expert has recommended."

The California case is among others either pending or resolved at the high court that confronted state restrictions imposed on in-person gatherings amid the pandemic.

In another pending case, lawyers for Illinois on Thursday night asked the justices to turn down a dispute involving a church. The executive order at issue expires Friday, the Illinois lawyers said, and religious gatherings at that time will no longer be subject to mandatory restrictions.

Newsom has laid out a state reopening plan that lifts restrictions on residents and businesses in stages. The governor placed churches in Stage Three along with movie theaters, nail salons and other settings that put larger numbers of people in close contact with each other for prolonged periods.

Leaders of South Bay United Pentecostal argued that Newsom's decision not to place houses of worship in a less-restrictive second stage—now available to most counties in the state—was arbitrary. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on May 15 denied the church's request for a temporary restraining order.

One week later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took the church's appeal but denied any immediate injunctive relief. On May 23, the church filed an emergency application for relief with Kagan, pleading for an order that would allow unrestricted services to take place on May 31, Pentecost Sunday.

After Newsom issued new guidance for religious meetings on May 25, South Bay United Pentecostal filed a supplemental brief asking the high court to allow unfettered worship services, free of any attendance limits.

The church, represented by Charles LiMandri of the Rancho Sante Fe firm LiMandri & Jonna, argued that California placed no such capacity restrictions on manufacturing or warehouse facilities. LiMandri is working with the Thomas More Society and Dhillon Law Group.

"Labor in manufacturing facilities, warehouses and offices does not typically involve large numbers of people singing or reading aloud together in the same place, in close proximity to one another, for an extended duration," the state's attorneys wrote.

Although courts have largely upheld governors' pandemic-related restrictions on large gatherings, including those in churches, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit earlier this month issued an injunction allowing a Kentucky church to hold in-person services.