Written by Don Byrd
Bloomberg Law reports on a potential wrinkle in the Trinity Lutheran case related to next week’s election. That case, you will recall, involves government funding for playground improvements that the plaintiff church was denied because of a provision in state law prohibiting state aid to religion. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the 8th Circuit’s ruling, which upheld the state’s decision not to award the grant, but months later has not scheduled oral argument in the case, prompting much speculation.
What might the election have to do with it? The report notes that the state will vote on an Attorney General, meaning the state’s position in the case could change. Here is an excerpt from the report:
Missouri Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster (D) currently represents the [Department of Natural Resources], but will soon retire from the position.
Republican attorney general candidate Josh Hawley has taken the church’s side. He filed an amicus brief in support of Trinity on behalf of a Pentecostal Christian denomination.
…
If Hawley wins the election and still takes the church’s side, then Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who oversees the Eighth Circuit, could “suggest someone to the Court to appoint to defend the judgment below,” Morgan Lewis’s [partner Allyson N.] Ho said.
That “scenario would almost certainly require a new round of briefing, with argument likely scheduled for next Term,” Ho said.
It’s also possible that the parties could settle, she said.
The BJC filed a brief with the Supreme Court in the case. For more, see the BJC’s Trinity Lutheran resource page.
