Resurrection School v. Hertel
Description: Resurrection School is challenging Michigan health officials for subjecting religious school students to a mask mandate to which other private entities are no longer subject.
ADF attorney to argue before 6th Circuit in favor of lifting Michigan mask mandate for religious schools
WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Resurrection School v. Hertel
WHEN: Immediately after hearing, which begins at 2 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 9
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, 100 East Fifth St., Cincinnati; hearing is also available by live-stream. Media not attending in person may contact ADF Media Relations Manager AnnMarie Pariseau at 480-417-3975 to schedule an interview.
CINCINNATI – Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch will be available for media interviews Wednesday immediately following oral arguments at the 6th Circuit in Resurrection School v. Hertel, a case challenging Michigan health officials for subjecting religious school students to a mask mandate to which other private entities are no longer subject.
On Monday, the court granted ADF attorneys’ request to participate in oral arguments after they filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Resurrection School and two families whose children attend the school.
“When the government allows spas, tattoo parlors, and restaurants to decide whether they want to wear masks, it must give the same right to religious schools,” said Bursch, who will argue before the court on behalf of the school. “It’s legally baseless to say that private schools can’t make their own decisions regarding masks. Michigan’s health officials are unfairly punishing these schools and hindering kids’ ability to receive a religious education. We urge the governor and the Department of Health to swiftly uphold Resurrection School’s constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs and teaching.”
As the friend-of-the-court brief filed in the case explained, “the masks distracted children from their religious education, and the policy conflicted with parents’ rights ‘to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions….’ This Court should hold that Michigan’s mask-mandate exemptions impact the State’s interest in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the same manner whether applied to spas, tattoo parlors, and restaurants on the one hand, or religious-school students on the other.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT John Bursch
John Bursch is senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom. Bursch has argued 12 U.S. Supreme Court cases and more than 30 state supreme court cases since 2011, and a recent study concluded that among all frequent Supreme Court advocates who did not work for the federal government, he had the 3rd highest success rate for persuading justices to adopt his legal position. Bursch served as solicitor general for the state of Michigan from 2011-2013. He has argued multiple Michigan Supreme Court cases in eight of the last ten terms and has successfully litigated hundreds of matters nationwide, including six with at least $1 billion at stake. As part of his private firm, Bursch Law PLLC, he has represented Fortune 500 companies, foreign and domestic governments, top public officials, and industry associations in high-profile cases, primarily on appeal. He received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1997 from the University of Minnesota Law School and is admitted to practice in numerous federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.