Behind the Scenes of Mirabelli - How Teachers and Parents Won at SCOTUS | Guest Jeffrey Trissel

In this episode of the Napa Legal Podcast, Frank DeVito is joined by Jeffrey Trissell, a California attorney that worked on Mirabelli v. Bonta, a landmark parental rights case recently decided by the US Supreme Court. They discuss the case itself, as well as Jeffrey's advocacy for Churches that sought to serve their members during COVID but faced an uphill legal battle.

Key Moments:

0:55 Introduction

1:46 The basics of Mirabelli v. Bonta - A case recently decided by the US Supreme Court that held that California's "parental exclusion policy" likely violates the Constitution. The policy instructed staff to treat children like they are members of the opposite sex and lie to parents that disagreed.

7:06 The experience of the teachers and families that brought the lawsuit

8:31 The path to the Supreme Court

12:10 The impact of the Supreme Court's decision

17:15 The emergency docket, how the judiciary operates, and Justice Kagan's dissent

19:58 Jeffrey's work representing churches that faced religious discrimination in the COVID era

23:35 South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom at the Supreme Court

24:50 Is today's legal landscape for religious freedom different from 2020?

Jeffrey M. Trissell is an accomplished civil litigator with numerous wins in both state and federal court. In addition to his work in private practice, he serves as special counsel to the Thomas More Society. The majority of his practice is devoted to constitutional rights, which includes First Amendment litigation. He recently published his book "Unlocking the Churches - the legal victory against California's pandemic-era religious discrimination."

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The Napa Legal Podcast, April 10, 2026