Jewish man argues to SCOTUS for right to pray without permit

An Orthodox Jewish man who says city officials required him to obtain a permit to pray with friends at home filed his opening brief with the Supreme Court Monday. Daniel Grand sued officials in University Heights, Ohio, after they sent him a cease-and-desist letter for holding a prayer group with around a dozen men at his house in 2021. Officials told Grand he needed “a special use permit” to host the group. But after Grand applied for the permit, he withdrew his application, saying that he faced opposition from the city and nearby residents.

The city weaponized its permit laws against Grand’s religious practices, said John Bursch, an attorney at Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents him. No American should need a permit to pray, Bursch said. It’s a troubling trend when zoning laws are applied to prayer nights but not similar-sized events like book clubs or poker nights, he said.

What has the city said about the dispute? Officials took no enforcement action against Grand, the city argued in its own brief to the Supreme Court. The city characterized the cease-and-desist letter as not coercive and not an enforcement action. City officials said Grand was and still is free to submit a new application for the permit.

How did the case get to the Supreme Court? The high court agreed to weigh Grand’s case in July. Previously, lower federal courts dismissed his lawsuit, stating that Grand failed to fully exhaust his permit-appeal rights.

Grand said he withdrew his application after officials harassed him for his religious practice. Officials ordered police to spy on him, issued unfounded property violations, unlawfully withheld his certificate of occupancy and tax abatements, and failed to regularly collect his trash, according to ADF. The city clearly mistreated Grand’s free speech and religious rights, ADF said.

Dig deeper: Read my report for Roundups about how Grand details his story.