Supreme Court Narrows Review in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy to Smith General Applicability Test

The scheduling order confines the case to two questions drawn from Employment Division v. Smith and Carson v. Makin. Colorado's universal preschool statute requires providers to accept all applicants regardless of religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, yet grants exemptions for income and disability status. Lower courts upheld the exclusion of Archdiocese of Denver schools under Smith, treating the rules as neutral and generally applicable. The Court declined the petitioner's request to overrule Smith outright.

The Third Circuit's Sun Valley Orchards decision and Jarkesy together frame the agency-power case. The farm challenged Labor Department in-house adjudication of H-2A penalties exceeding $500,000, arguing separation-of-powers limits on administrative imposition of private monetary liability. Nielsen v. Watanabe tests inmate access to federal-court review of prison medical care under existing precedents on deliberate indifference.

These dockets reveal institutional incentives: states seek maximum discretion in allocating benefits while preserving anti-discrimination language; federal agencies defend administrative efficiency against Article III encroachment. Primary records show the Court has already narrowed the grant in Roy to avoid a direct Smith confrontation, preserving precedent while testing exemption carve-outs.

Oral arguments begin November 3. A ruling by June 2025 will clarify the scope of neutral-law exemptions and agency adjudication authority without resetting Free Exercise doctrine.