The case will now return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will likely take up the issue of whether the Navy can separate the SEALs. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito wrote the dissenting opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas would have also denied the partial stay, although he did not join Gorsuch or Alito in their opinion. The Supreme Court has traditionally deferred to the military when it comes to RFRA, USNI News previously reported. However, Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court found that the Navy had a compelling interest and that vaccination was the least restrictive measure in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The judges who initially heard the case and the appeal agreed that RFRA was violated. The plaintiffs argued that the DoD did not use the least restrictive means when mandating vaccination.
In the SEALs case, which was heard in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the plaintiffs argued that they were protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which says the government, in this case the Department of Defense, must show that there is a compelling interest for demanding something that might go against religious beliefs and that they are using the least restrictive means possible.
“In this case, the District Court, while no doubt well-intentioned, in effect inserted itself into the Navy’s chain of command, overriding military commanders’ professional military judgments,” Kavanaugh wrote. In his opinion, Kavanaugh wrote that his decision to grant the partial stay came down to the fact that the president of the United States is the commander of the armed forces, not judges.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the concurring opinion. The Navy still cannot separate the SEALs, but it can assign them to non-deployable positions, which is what the sea service has done for other sailors who have exemptions for the vaccine.
The Supreme Court granted a partial stay of a preliminary injunction that prevented the Navy from dismissing or reassigning the SEALs and the other members of the Special Warfare community involved in the lawsuit. The Navy can now reassign 36 members of the Special Warfare community who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, the Supreme Court ruled Friday. COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are pre-staged for a shot event in the hangar bay aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) on Dec.