Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n

Decided June 4, 2018. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 16-111 · 584 U.S. 617 (2018) · Cited 175 times

Holding

The Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s actions in assessing a cakeshop owner’s reasons for declining to make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding celebration violated the Free Exercise Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)
• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission · 475 U.S. 1 (1986)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale · 530 U.S. 640 (2000)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. · 501 U.S. 560 (1991)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. · 390 U.S. 400 (1968)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• Spence v. Washington · 418 U.S. 405 (1974)
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo · 418 U.S. 241 (1974)
• United States v. Windsor · 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
• Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn. · 564 U.S. 786 (2011)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• J. E. B. v. Alabama ex rel. T. B. · 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Virginia v. Black · 538 U.S. 343 (2003)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell · 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
• Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement · 505 U.S. 123 (1992)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Bostock v. Clayton County · 590 U.S. 644 (2020)
• Nieves v. Bartlett · 587 U.S. 391 (2019)
• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).