The Colorado baker is going on offense. You may have thought the Masterpiece Cakeshop case -- in which a baker refused on religious grounds to bake a custom cake for a same-sex wedding -- was over after the Supreme Court...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
The U.S. Supreme Court closed out its most recent term, which began in October 2017, with a number of high-profile and ground-breaking decisions. ...more
Since 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court has expressly construed a neutral law of general applicability as consistent with the free exercise clause. Deeming Colorado's public accommodations law just such a law, the Colorado Court...more
On June 4, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, found in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakes, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He cited religious beliefs condemning...more
In a largely symbolic ruling, in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a cake shop owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his...more
Most everyone watching the news these days has heard of the Materpiece Cakeshop case, which challenges the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s ruling that a baker broke the law when he refused to bake a wedding cake for a...more
In a limited opinion issued, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. However, the Court’s decision in the case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colo....more
In a prior MuniBlog posting we covered a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court involving a Colorado baker and concerns about non-discrimination laws and religious objections. In Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil...more
In 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment precludes states from prohibiting the marriage of same-sex couples. In the past three...more
The US Supreme Court decided yesterday what Court watchers thought might be a landmark case deciding whether the rights to free exercise of religion and free speech trumped the rights of gays and lesbians to have access to...more
The Supreme Court issued its anticipated decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. ...more
By a majority of 7–2, the Court ruled in favor of Colorado-based baker Jack Phillips, who in 2012 refused to sell to a same-sex couple a wedding cake intended for a celebration following the couple’s out-of-state marriage....more
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. and Jack C. Phillips v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In a 7-2 opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court held that the...more
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States settled a controversy stemming from a bakery’s refusal to make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding reception. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, ruled that...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-to-2 decision, overturned a Colorado public accommodation sexual orientation discrimination case that found that a Lakewood baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple violated the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a narrow ruling in favor of a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, No. 16-111 (June 4, 2018)....more
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, No. 16-111, holding that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated the Free Exercise Clause...more
As always, there’s plenty of public law news to cover this month from Colorado and beyond. Here are your highlights...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Oral argument suggests the Supreme Court is narrowly divided on how to reconcile non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals with claims for religious liberty, with Justice Kennedy appearing likely...more
The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case with potentially far-reaching implications for issues at the intersection of civil rights and religious freedoms on December 5, 2017. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v....more
The upcoming U.S. Supreme Court term promises to be a big one, featuring a patent case that could be a game changer for many clients and a host of other cases that may affect how tech and life sciences companies deal with...more
On June 26, 2017, the last day of its session, the Supreme Court issued what is likely to be one of its most significant rulings this year – and possibly for years to come – in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Texas Supreme Court held that the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, did not dispositively address how far government employers must go in providing benefits...more
In a post last week, I discussed how some believe Tennessee’s version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) could allow Tennessee businesses to refuse service to same-sex couples despite a recent ruling that...more