U.S. 16-111 Case History

Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd., et al., Petitioners v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, et al.
No. 16-111, Docket 

Court: United States Supreme Court 
Docketed: July 25, 2016
Lower Court: Court of Appeals of Colorado, No. 2015COA115
Decision Date: August 13, 2015; Colorado Supreme Court denied review: April 25, 2016

Question Presented
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.

ORAL ARGUMENT

• Argued  Tuesday, December 5, 2017; AUDIO; TRANSCRIPT
• Notice Regarding Clarification of the Record of Colorado Civil Rights Commission (01/08/2018)

• Arguing in favor of Petitioner
  • Kristen Kellie Waggoner, Alliance Defending Freedom, representing Petitioner (20 minutes, including rebuttal)
  • Noel J. Francisco, U.S. Solicitor General (10 minutes)
• Arguing in favor of Respondents
  • Frederick R. Yarger, Colorado Solicitor General, representing Colorado Civil Rights Commission (15 minutes)
  • David Cole, ACLU, representing Charlie Craig and David Mullins (15 minutes)

• Respondents’ Motion for Divided Argument (10/10/2017); Granted 11/21/17
• United States Motion to Participate in Argument and for Divided Argument (10/25/2017); Granted 11/21/17

BRIEFS ON THE MERITS

• Petitioner’s Brief and Joint Appendix (08/31/2017)
• Respondents’ briefs (10/23/2017)
  • Colorado Civil Rights Commission
  • Charlie Craig and David Mullins
• Petitioner Reply Brief (11/22/2017)

Amicus Briefs in support of Petitioner

• Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, et al. (08/30/2017)
• Indiana Family Institute, et al. (08/31/2017)
• Southeast Legal Foundation, et al. (09/01/2017)
• Rev. Patrick Mahoney, et al. (09/06/2017)
• Thomas More Society (09/06/2017)
• Cato Institute, et al. (09/06/2017)
• Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., et al. (09/06/2017)
• Independence Law Institute (09/06/2017)
• North Carolina Values Coalition and the Family Research Council (09/06/2017)
• Foundation for Moral Law (09/06/2017)
• Law and Economics Scholars (09/06/2017)
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Liberty Counsel (09/07/2017)
• United States (09/07/2017)
• National Black Religious Broadcasters, et al. (09/07/2017)
• William Jack and The National Center for Law and Policy (09/07/2017)
• Mark Regnerus, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (09/07/2017)
• Agudath Israel of America (09/07/2017)
• 33 Family Policy Organizations (09/07/2017)
• International Christian Photographers and Center for Arizona Policy (09/07/2017)
• Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and National Organization for Marriage (09/07/2017)
• 34 Legal Scholars (09/07/2017)
• Sherif Girgis (09/07/2017)
• Public Advocate of the United States, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Christian Business Owners Supporting Religious Freedom (09/07/2017)
• Richard Lawrence (09/07/2017)
• United States Senators and Representatives (09/07/2017)
• American College of Pediatricians, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, et al. (09/07/2017)
• C12 Group, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Aaron and Melissa Klein (09/07/2017)
• National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (“COLPA”) filed on behalf of Orthodox Jewish Organizations, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Christian Legal Society, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Legal Scholar Adam J. MacLeod (09/07/2017)
• Professors Christopher R. Green and David R. Upham (09/07/2017)
• Freedom X and Rabbi Dovid Bressman (09/07/2017)
• 479 Creative Professionals (09/07/2017)
• Restoring Religious Freedom Project (09/07/2017)
• First Amendment Lawyers Association (09/07/2017)
• States of Texas, et al. (09/07/2017)
• CatholicVote.org (09/07/2017)
• Concerned Women for America (09/07/2017)
• National Legal Foundation, et al. (09/07/2017)
• Christian Law Association (09/07/2017)
• Utah Republican State Senators (09/08/2017)

Amicus Briefs in support of neither party

• Cake Artists (09/07/2017)
• Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), et al. (09/07/2017)
• Institute for Justice (09/07/2017)
• David Boyle (09/07/2017)

Amicus Briefs in support of Respondents

• Legal Scholars in Support of Equality (10/25/2017)
• Freedom of Speech Scholars (10/25/2017)
• Service and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders and the American Society on Aging (10/26/2017)
• American Unity Fund and Profs. Dale Carpenter and Eugene Volokh (10/26/2017)
• Scholars of the Constitutional Rights and Interests of Children (10/26/2017)
• Freedom From Religion Foundation (10/27/2017)
• 15 Faith and Civil Rights Organizations (10/30/2017)
• The General Synod of the United Church of Christ, et al.. (10/30/2017)
• First Amendment Scholars (10/30/2017)
• Center for Inquiry, et al. (10/30/2017)
• National Women’s Law Center and Other Groups (10/30/2017)
• Chefs, Bakers, and Restaurateurs (10/30/2017)
• Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Church-State Scholars (10/30/2017)
• GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Transgender Law Center, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Colorado Organizations and Individuals (10/30/2017)
• Americans United for Separation of Church and State, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Outserve-SLDN, Inc., et al. (10/30/2017)
• American Psychological Association, et al. (10/30/2017)
• American Bar Association (10/30/2017)
• Floyd Abrams, et al.  (10/30/2017)
• Main Street Alliance, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Thirty-Seven Businesses and Organizations (10/30/2017)
• Ilan H. Meyer, PhD, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Central Conference of American Rabbis, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Corporate Law Professors (10/30/2017)
• Civil Rights Forum (10/30/2017)
• Professor Tobias B. Wolff (10/30/2017)
• 211 Members of Congress (10/30/2017)
• Former Representative Tony Coelho, et al. (10/30/2017)
• National LGBTQ Task Force, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Public Accommodation Law Scholars (10/30/2017)
• Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Service Employees International Union (10/30/2017)
• Scholars of Behavioral Science and Economics (10/30/2017)
• Massachusetts, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding (10/30/2017)
• NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (10/30/2017)
• Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (10/30/2017)
• Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., et al. (10/30/2017)
• County of Santa Clara, Cities of New York and Los Angeles, et al. (10/30/2017)
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, et al. (10/30/2017)
• National League of Cities, et al. (10/30/2017)

MOTIONS TO INTERVENE (Denied)

• Chris Sevier, et al. (09/20/2017); Denied 10/30/17
• John Gunter, Jr., et al. (09/28/2017); Denied 10/30/17

CERT PETITION and RESPONSES

• Petition for a writ of certiorari [with Appendix attached] (07/22/2016)
• Responses
  • Brief in opposition of Charlie Craig and David Mullins (11/28/2016)
  • Brief in opposition of Colorado Civil Rights Commission (11/29/2016)
• Reply of Petitioners Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd., et al. (12/12/2016)
• Petitioner’s Supplemental Authority in support of cert (05/12/2017)
  • Lexington Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission v. Hands on Originals, Inc., No. 2015-CA-0745-MR (Ky. Ct. App. May 12, 2017)

Amicus Brief in support of Petitioner and in favor of granting cert

• Foundation for Moral Law (with motion for permission to file) (08/22/2016)

• DISTRIBUTED for Conferences:
  • September 26, 2016 (08/24/2016); Response Requested, due Sept. 30, extended to Nov. 29
  • January 6, 2017 (12/14/2016); Rescheduled (01/03/2017)
  • January 13, 2017 (01/09/2017)
  • February 17, 2017 (02/01/2017); Rescheduled (02/15/2017)
  • February 24, 2017 (02/21/2017)
  • March 3, 2017 (02/27/2017)
  • March 17, 2017 (03/13/2017)
  • March 24, 2017 (03/20/2017)
  • March 31, 2017 (03/27/2017)
  • April 13, 2017 (04/10/2017)
  • April 21, 2017 (04/17/2017)
  • April 24, 2017 (04/28/2017)
  • May 8, 2017 (05/11/2017)
  • May 18, 2017 (05/15/2017)
  • May 25, 2017 (05/22/2017)
  • June 1, 2017 (05/30/2017)
  • June 8, 2017 (06/05/2017)
  • June 15, 2017 (06/12/2017)
  • June 22, 2017 (06/19/2017)
• ORDER Cert Granted (06/26/2017)

Last updated 11/22/2017