Noah Feldman, Columnist

Virginia Should Treat Churches as Essential During Coronavirus

A lawsuit backed by the Department of Justice could end badly if it’s allowed to proceed.

May 4, 2020 at 8:00 PM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Not the same as a lawyer’s office.
Photographer: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images

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Attorney General William Barr has made good on his threat to take legal action against states that restrict religious services during the coronavirus pandemic. The Department of Justice has filed a brief in federal district court in Virginia in support of a church claiming the right to hold socially distanced worship.

The lawsuit should not be allowed to be litigated to completion. The governor of Virginia should make a strategic decision to tweak the state’s rules to make it go away.