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Masterpiece Cakeshop: A Case Study Brought To You By The U.S. Supreme Court, Edward J. Schoen

Rohrer College of Business Faculty Scholarship

In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission,[1] the U.S. Supreme Court ruled seven to two that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (“the Commission”) violated the free exercise rights of a baker, who refused to sell a custom-designed wedding cake to a gay couple, by reflecting hostility toward the baker’s religious beliefs during public hearings in the case and treating him differently from three other bakers who objected to creating wedding cakes with messages expressing derogatory views of same-sex marriage.[2] In reaching its decision, the Court sidestepped the chore of reconciling two fundamental principles: (1) whether …