The Colorado Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari Oct. 3 in a case involving the Masterpiece Cakeshop.
The Lakewood, Colorado bakery previously made waves all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court back in 2018.
The case, before the Colorado Supreme Court, focuses on a Colorado Court of Appeals unanimous decision from January in Scardina v. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. et al. In that case, according to the appeals court opinion, Autumn Scardina contended she was denied service by a bakery because of her identity as a trans woman, in violation of her right to be free from discrimination in a place of public accommodation.
Masterpiece and its proprietor, Jack Phillips, contended their decision not to make a cake for Scardina was based on their firm and sincere religious beliefs and the right to be free from compelled speech that would violate those beliefs, the appeals court opinion continued.
The Colorado Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court’s judgment in favor of Scardina and affirmed.
The questions before the Colorado Supreme Court in the case could include whether the decision by Masterpiece and Phillips not to create a pink cake with blue frosting that was to be used to celebrate a gender transition violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act’s prohibition on transgender-status discrimination.
Another question before the Colorado Supreme Court could be whether the decision by Masterpiece and Phillips not to create a pink cake with blue frosting that was to be used to celebrate a gender transition was protected by the First Amendment.
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. et al. v. Scardina is case no. 23SC116.