The United States Supreme Court has decided to let stand a ruling that upholds the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut’s victory in the Connecticut Supreme Court.
The court denied a petition filed by former clergy and members of Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church in Groton for a writ of certiorari. A writ is issued if four justices express an interest in hearing the case. The former members of Bishop Seabury now belong to the Anglican Church in North America.
Background on the case of Gauss v. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is here.
SCOTUSblog defined the issue in the case as: “Whether the First Amendment, as interpreted by this Court in Jones v. Wolf, requires state civil courts to enforce an alleged trust imposed on local church property by provisions in denominational documents, regardless of whether those provisions would be legally cognizable under generally applicable rules of state property and trust law.”
Can people with some legal background tell us whether it is fair to say that the U. S. Supreme Court has refused an opportunity to review the Dennis Canon?
Make sure to read Eric Bonetti’s instructive analysis in the comments.