United States v. 2020-12-23 | 20-56358 | SOUTH BAY UNITED PENTECOSTAL V. GAVIN NEWSOM | precedential | opinion |

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

SOUTH BAY UNITED PENTECOSTAL
CHURCH, a California nonprofit
corporation; B
ISHOP ARTHUR
HODGES III, an individual,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.

G
AVIN NEWSOM, in his official
capacity as the Governor of
California; XAVIER BECERRA, in his
official capacity as Attorney General
of California; S
ONIA ANGELL, in her
official capacity as California Public
Health Officer; WILMA J. WOOTEN,
in her official capacity as Public
Health Officer, County of San
Diego; H
ELEN ROBBINS-MEYER, in
her official capacity as Director of
Emergency Services; W
ILLIAM D.
GORE, in his official capacity as
Sheriff of the County of San Diego,
Defendants-Appellees.
No. 20-56358

D.C. No.
3:20-cv-00865-
BAS-AHG

ORDER

2 SOUTH BAY UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH V. NEWSOM

Filed December 23, 2020

Before: Kim McLane Wardlaw and Richard C. Clifton,
Circuit Judges, and Timothy Hillman,
*
District Judge.

ORDER
Appellees are directed to file an opposition to
Appellants’ Emergency Motion for an Injunction Pending
Appeal on Thursday, December 24, 2020, by 9:00 A.M.
Appellants’ optional reply brief is due on Thursday,
December 24, 2020, by 12:00 P.M.
Given that the issues presented in this appeal “strike at
the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of
religious liberty,” Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v.
Cuomo, 141 S. Ct. 63, slip op. at 6 (2020) (per curiam), and
the gravity of the pandemic’s impact on Southern California,
in particular, we order Appellants’ appeal from the district
court’s Order Denying the Motion for a Temporary
Restraining Order or Preliminary Injunction expedited. See
Fed. R. App. P. 2; Ninth Circuit R. 3-3. The briefing
schedule shall proceed as follows: the opening brief and
excerpts of record are due on or before December 31, 2020;
the answering brief is due on or before January 7, 2021; and
the optional reply brief is due on or before January 11, 2021.
This appeal is set for virtual oral argument at the Richard
H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals Building, Pasadena,

*
The Honorable Timothy Hillman, United States District Judge for
the District of Massachusetts, sitting by designation.

SOUTH BAY UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH V. NEWSOM 3

California, on January 15, 2021, at 1:00 P.M. Each side is
allotted 30 minutes for argument.
IT IS SO ORDERED.