The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed yet another lawsuit against Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop, a Christian bakery that has been the subject of several lawsuits over the past 12 years. The latest lawsuit accuses Phillips of discriminating against a transgender lawyer who refused to bake a custom cake celebrating her gender transition.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a lawyer group representing Phillips, was sued in 2012 for refusing to bake a custom cake celebrating same-sex marriage, saying it violated her religious beliefs. He defended Phillips for the first time.
“Enough is enough. Jack has been dragged through the courts for over a decade and it's time to let him go,” ADF senior adviser Jake Warner said in a statement.
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Jack Phillips, a baker and owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood, Colorado, on August 15, 2018. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post, Getty Images)
“Freedom of speech belongs to everyone. As the U.S. Supreme Court held in 303 Creative, the government cannot force artists to express messages they don't believe in. In this case, lawyers asked the government to create a custom cake to celebrate and symbolize peace. The cake clearly represents a message, and Jack is unable to express that message to anyone else. cannot punish Jack for refusing to express that message. ”
Although the state court did not issue an opinion regarding Phillips' First Amendment rights, it said the plaintiff, Autumn Scardina, who identifies as a woman, had not properly filed her case in Colorado and found it was a technical violation. It was rejected for the reason.
“Among other issues, we [the attorney] properly filed [this] ” the Colorado Supreme Court wrote in its opinion in Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Scardina. [the attorney] I didn't. ”
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Stock image of cake in showcase (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“The fundamental constitutional questions this case raises are the focus of intense national debate. How do we balance this with the rights of religious business owners?” “Justice Melissa Hart wrote in the Colorado Supreme Court's majority opinion:
I can't answer that question.
On the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear Phillips' first case. The lawsuit was won by Phillips in 2018 after the state of Colorado forced him to make a custom cake for a same-sex wedding, but the transgender lawyer asked Phillips' shop to make a custom cake. asked for a request. To celebrate gender transition. Phillips refused.
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A transgender lawyer asked Jack Phillips to bake a cake to celebrate his gender transition. (Alison Diener/AFP via Getty Images)
The lawyer then called again and asked for “a second cake depicting Satan smoking marijuana to correct the mistake.” [Phillips’] “We believe that this is the case,” an ADF news release said.
“Mr. Phillips politely declined both requests because the cake expressed a message that was contrary to his core beliefs,” ADF said. “Later, his lawyer filed the latest lawsuit and threatened to continue harassing Mr. Phillips until he is punished. Mr. Phillips serves people of all backgrounds. Like many artists, he I decided to create a custom cake based on things like: what They will express it, not who demands it. ”
