20 States, Territories and Legislatures Back PJI Supreme Court Religious Freedom Case

Idaho-led coalition urges Supreme Court to hear PJI challenge to Ninth Circuit ruling on religious beliefs under Title VII

WASHINGTON - A coalition representing 18 states, Puerto Rico and the Arizona Legislature has filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) client Sherry Detwiler in her religious discrimination case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Sept. 16 brief supports Detwiler's petition for a writ of certiorari in Sherry Detwiler v. Mid-Columbia Medical Center, et al., No. 26-196.

Idaho is joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia, along with Puerto Rico and the Arizona Legislature.

The coalition is asking the Supreme Court to review a divided Ninth Circuit decision concerning what qualifies as a religious belief under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Detwiler, a practicing Christian, served as Privacy Officer and Director of Health Information for

Mid-Columbia Medical Center in Oregon. After receiving a religious exemption from the hospital's COVID-19 vaccination requirement, she sought an accommodation from mandatory nasal-swab testing. Detwiler maintained that submitting to the testing conflicted with her religious conviction that her body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and that she must protect it from substances she believes could cause physical harm. She said prayer confirmed that conviction.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center denied her requested accommodation and terminated her employment in December 2021. PJI sued under Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion and defines religion to include "all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief."

A divided Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of Detwiler's case, concluding that her objection to nasal-swab testing was based on a secular judgment rather than a religious belief protected by Title VII. The Ninth Circuit later declined to rehear the case en banc, prompting multiple dissenting judges to criticize the panel's approach.

In its new Supreme Court brief, the multistate coalition argues that the Ninth Circuit drew an improper distinction between specific religious rules and broader religious standards that believers apply to circumstances in daily life. The brief also argues that Detwiler's reliance on prayer to discern how her faith applied to the testing requirement supports, rather than diminishes, the religious character of her conviction.

"Believers do not stop exercising their faith when a religious principle requires them to apply prayer, conscience and discernment to a real-world decision," said PJI Senior Counsel Matthew McReynolds, counsel of record for Detwiler before the Supreme Court. "We are grateful that this broad coalition has asked the Supreme Court to address the Ninth Circuit's approach and reaffirm the protection Congress gave religious employees under Title VII."

The coalition also points to disagreement among federal courts over how similar religious objections should be treated. Its brief urges the Supreme Court to resolve that disagreement and clarify that a religious belief does not lose protection simply because applying it requires consideration of factual circumstances.

PJI also appreciates the support of the Lorica Institute for Freedom of Expression and Religion, which filed a separate amicus brief in support of Detwiler's petition. Lorica's brief argues that Title VII's prohibition against discrimination "because of religion" encompasses religious moral decision-making informed by prayer, conscience and factual investigation.

PJI Founder and President Brad Dacus welcomed the support.

"When 20 states, territories and legislatures come before the Supreme Court to address the consequences of a ruling, their concerns deserve serious attention," Dacus said. "Americans should not have their religious convictions stripped of legal protection simply because a court decides those convictions are too broad or involve personal discernment. We are thankful for this strong support as we ask the Supreme Court to hear Sherry Detwiler's case."

The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to hear the case. Detwiler's petition asks the justices to review the Ninth Circuit's decision and clarify the protection afforded to religious beliefs under Title VII.

Read the Lorica Institute for Freedom of Expression and Religion's amicus brief in support of Sherry Detwiler here.

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