On October 30, 2026, FFRF filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the case Grand v. University Heights. The lawsuit involves Daniel Grand, a former resident of University Heights, Ohio. In 2021 he invited a dozen or so neighbors to participate in weekly Jewish prayer gatherings at his home. His invitation was circulated more widely, allegedly without his knowledge. City officials reacted by sending him a cease-and-desist letter, alerting him that he would need a special use permit if he intended to use his property as a house of worship for large gatherings.
Grand applied for a permit, then later withdrew his application, stating that he never intended to operate a house of worship from his home. Both Grand and the city agreed that small, informal religious gatherings, including the type Grand intended to host, do not require a permit under the city’s zoning ordinance. The city never enforced the ordinance against him, and the city has expressly acknowledged that residents may host regular, informal religious or nonreligious gatherings without government permission.
This brief calls Grand’s legal standing into question because the zoning ordinance was never enforced against him and he no longer lives in University Heights. It argues that allowing the case to proceed could undermine constitutional safeguards that require federal courts to resolve legal disputes rather than issue rulings based on hypothetical injuries. A plaintiff must demonstrate a sufficiently concrete injury, and that controversy must remain alive throughout the litigation. Grand cannot establish either. He does not have a credible threat of enforcement against activities the city acknowledges are permissible, and his departure from University Heights has rendered his requests for prospective relief moot.
