Kentucky’s Unconstitutional Church Lockdowns Need Recompense

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in Lackey v. Stinnie that earning a preliminary injunction does not make a plaintiff a prevailing party for purposes of a fee award like a permanent injunction. Despite the longstanding practice of courts awarding prevailing status for preliminary injunctions, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that a party prevails only when a court conclusively resolves a claim, and not when events outside the court turn a temporary victory into a permanent one. This was the case in Maryville’s lawsuit when Gov. Beshear rescinded the unlawful lockdowns before a permanent injunction was required. Now, a Sixth Circuit panel relied on SCOTUS’ decision in Lackey to retroactively deny Maryville’s prevailing party status and deny the award of attorney’s fees and costs.

In its en banc petition, Liberty Counsel argues the Lackey decision should not preclude awarding Maryville Baptist Church and its pastor their entitled fees and costs since the appeals court had already “vested” to them the previously accepted right to those awards in their 2020 victory – 880 days before Lackey. Liberty Counsel further noted that neither the Constitution nor any law requires the “retroactive application” of judicial decisions.

Liberty Counsel wrote, “[Since] the district court obstinately refused to award [Maryville Baptist Church and Dr. Jack Roberts] the attorney’s fees and costs to which they were entitled and for which their right had vested, [they] must appeal to this Court to prevent a manifest injustice that would arise from retroactive application of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lackey v. Stinnie.”

Since the plaintiffs had “prevailed in every sense of the word, but have been “left out in the cold,” the full Sixth Circuit should rehear the case and restore their vested right to attorney’s fees and costs, concluded Liberty Counsel.

On Easter Sunday 2020, Kentucky State Police troopers came to Maryville Baptist Church to fulfill Gov. Beshear’s threat to target anyone who attended a church service against his in-person worship ban. The church was allowing a small number of people to assemble inside its 700-seat sanctuary, spread far apart, and had also set up speakers in its parking lot for “drive-in” worship. The police wrote down license plate numbers and placed quarantine notices on every car, including those containing people who had come for the drive-in service. All worshippers whose cars were noticed in the parking lot on Easter Sunday also received a letter from Gov. Beshear’s administration demanding their agreement to take their temperatures and report every day to the county health authority, not attend church, work, school, stores, and other public places; not travel outside the county; not travel outside of Kentucky without prior approval; and not travel by public, commercial, or emergency conveyance such as a bus, taxi, airplane, train, or boat without prior approval.

In 2020, Liberty Counsel won a series of preliminary injunctions that in combination blocked all aspects of Gov. Beshear’s church lockdown order. The order had prohibited all religious services while allowing many other secular gatherings. With the injunctions in place, Maryville Baptist Church and Dr. Roberts were allowed to resume both parking lot services and in-person services.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Sixth Circuit had previously and clearly determined Maryville Baptist Church and its pastor Dr. Jack Roberts are entitled to prevailing party status. Governor Andy Beshear’s executive orders clearly targeted religious services and such a gross violation of the First Amendment entitles Maryville’s attorney’s fees and costs be paid by the state. Retroactive judgments that deprive a prevailing party of a vested right is a violation of Due Process and an injustice. It is time for Gov. Beshear to pay for his unconstitutional actions.”