Episode description

Welcome to Supreme Court Opinions. In this episode, you’ll hear the Court’s opinion in 303 Creative LLC v Elenis.

In this case, the court considered this issue: Does application of the Colorado AntiDiscrimination Act to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment?

The case was decided on June 30, 2023.

The Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs that convey messages with which the designer disagrees. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the 6-3 majority opinion of the Court.

The First Amendment exists to protect an “uninhibited marketplace of ideas” and individual liberty, which means the government generally cannot compel a person to espouse its preferred messages. The wedding websites Lorie Smith seeks to create in this case are “protected First Amendment speech.” Colorado's law, intending to enforce non-discrimination, would compel her to express messages contrary to her beliefs.

Although public accommodations play a key role in promoting civil rights, these laws must bow to constitutional imperatives and cannot be used to compel individuals to express messages they disagree with.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined, lamenting that, “the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.”

The opinion is presented here in its entirety, but with citations omitted. If you appreciate this episode, please subscribe. Thank you.