California Defeats Church’s Challenge to Stay-at-Home Order

California churches must abide by the governor’s decision to temporarily ban in-person religious services as part of the state’s effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court in San Francisco rejected a request of a San Diego pentecostal church to put the ban on hold, claiming it violated its right to the free exercise of religion and free speech.

In an unsigned opinion, the judges wrote that the ban on in-person services didn’t violate the church’s First Amendment rights because it’s not based on religious motivation and ...