Earlier this week, as Leah reported, a Colorado trial court ruled against Jack Phillips, a Christian baker of Masterpiece Cakeshop who cannot design custom products which go against his religious beliefs.
Alliance Defending Freedom has been with Phillips from the start of his legal battles, which involved a 7-2 win at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, with Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Kristen Waggoner, ADF general counsel who won that case for Phillips in her first argument before the Supreme Court, issued a statement on the decision from Denver District Judge A. Bruce Jones, promising to appeal:
Jack Phillips serves all people but shouldn’t be forced to create custom cakes with messages that violate his conscience. In this case, an activist attorney demanded Jack create custom cakes in order to ‘test’ Jack and ‘correct the errors’ of his thinking, and the activist even threatened to sue Jack again if the case is dismissed for any reason. Radical activists and government officials are targeting artists like Jack because they won’t promote messages on marriage and sexuality that violate their core convictions. This case and others—including the case of floral artist Barronelle Stutzman, whose petition is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court—represents a disturbing trend: the weaponization of our justice system to ruin those with whom the activists disagree. The harassment of people like Jack and Barronelle has been occurring for nearly a decade and must stop. We will appeal this decision and continue to defend the freedom of all Americans to peacefully live and work according to their deeply held beliefs without fear of punishment.
Also speaking out about the case and the decision is Mike Jones, who testified on behalf of Phillips, and who is cited in Judge Jones' opinion.
From the judge's opinion, with citations omitted:
Mike Jones testified that he told Phillips he was gay on his first visit to the Bakery and has received custom cakes and other items many times over the course of his 25 or more visits. Defendants have never declined to serve Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones has also not requested a gay-themed cake.
The more details that come out, the more Scardina's vindictiveness becomes apparent. In an email from Scardina to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Scardina volunteered to be the one to file a complaint against Phillips in the initial case, which involved a request for a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding. Further, in another instance, Scardina said, "I wanted to start a dialogue with Mr. Phillips and try to better understand his thinking. I truly believed that -- I want to believe that he's a good person. I want to believe that he could be, sort of, persuaded to the errors of his thinking."
You can read my review for Townhall of Jack Phillips' book, which was released on May 18, here. The book provides insight not only into court proceedings for Masterpiece Cakeshop and Masterpiece Cakeshop II, with the latter resulting in a settlement from the state of Colorado, but into Phillips' personal life as well.
This is the third Masterpiece Cakeshop case.