Supreme Court Votes 7-0 to Hear Motion to Quash Rev. Spell Case

The Louisiana Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it has unanimously voted to hear Rev. Tony Spell’s Motion to Quash the criminal charges against him. Rev. Spell was arrested last year and booked into Parish Prison for holding church services in violation of orders by Gov. John Bel Edwards. 

The pastor has challenged his arrest as a blatant violation of the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and specifically the Free Exercise clause and Freedom of Assembly. 

The governor maintains the Emergency Powers Law gives him the authority to shut down churches. But Rev. Spell’s attorney Jeff Wittenbrink said it is absurd to argue a statue could empower the governor to abrogate constitutional rights. In addition, R.S. 29:736D of the Emergency Powers Law specifically provides, “Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted to diminish the rights guaranteed to all persons under the Declaration of Rights of the Louisiana Constitution or the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.” 

The Supreme Court gave Rev. Spell and District Attorney Hillar Moore until Jan. 3, 2022, to file briefs in the case with oral arguments to be set thereafter. 

Wittenbrink said he is happy the Supreme Court decided to hear the case, and he is optimistic. “I am very proud to represent Pastor Spell in this matter.”

If the Motion to Quash is granted, the criminal charges against Pastor Spell will be ended. 

After his arrest, he was sent to Parish prison, then fitted with an ankle bracelet and put under house arrest. Even now, he is under the supervision of Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose and cannot leave the state without her permission. Government security cameras continue to observe the pastor’s residence and the family’s comings and goings.

The case of Pastor Spell is unprecedented in American history. Never before has a pastor been jailed for holding church.