Term: 2017
Docket: 16-111
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
- Pro
16-111 MASTERPIECE CAKESHOP V. CO CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION DECISION BELOW: 370 P.3d 272 CERT. GRANTED 6/26/2017 QUESTION PRESENTED: Jack Phillips is a cake artist. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that he engaged in sexual orientation discrimination under the Colorado Anti- Discrimination Act ("CADA'') when he declined to design and create a custom cake honoring a same-sex marriage because doing so conflicts with his sincerely held religious beliefs. The Colorado Court of Appeals found no violation of the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses because it deemed Phillips' speech to be mere conduct compelled by a neutral and generally applicable law. It reached this conclusion despite the artistry of Phillips' cakes and the Commission's exemption of other cake artists who declined to create custom cakes based on their message. This analysis (1) flouts this Court's controlling precedent, (2) conflicts with Ninth and Eleventh Circuit decisions regarding the free speech protection of art, (3) deepens an existing conflict between the Second, Third, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits as to the proper test for identifying expressive conduct, and (4) conflicts with free exercise rulings by the Third, Sixth, and Tenth Circuits. The question presented is: Whether applying Colorado's public accommodations law to compel Phillips to create expression that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage violates the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 14CA1351
The Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case in 2017 revolved around a baker's refusal to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple due to his religious beliefs. The couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA). The commission ruled in favor of the couple, and this decision was upheld by state courts. However, when appealed to the U.S Supreme Court, it reversed these decisions in June 2018 with a 7-2 majority ruling that favored Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips. The court found that during its original hearing of the case, members of the commission had shown clear hostility towards Phillips' religious beliefs which violated his right to free exercise thereof as protected by First Amendment rights; thus demonstrating an unfair bias against him.
In the dissenting opinion for Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued that the baker's refusal to make a cake for a same-sex wedding was not based on any message the cake would convey but rather who was ordering it - an act of discrimination against gay couples. She disagreed with the majority's view that some comments made by members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission displayed hostility towards religion; she believed these were isolated incidents and did not taint all proceedings related to this case. Furthermore, she pointed out other cases where bakers refused to create cakes with anti-gay messages and were found in violation of anti-discrimination laws – showing consistent application of law regardless of religious beliefs involved.
