The California Supreme Court denied hearing the case of a Christian cake artist who was sued after declining a request to design a cake for a same-sex wedding. Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the artist in the case, petitioned the state high court for a hearing. 

Cathy Miller is the owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California. A Christian, Miller considers her bakery “God’s business.” In 2017, Miller was asked to design and create a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. Miller, who meets with customers before designing a wedding cake, offers to refer customers to other bakeries if the theme of the cake conflicts with her religious beliefs, including themes of divorce, witchcraft, pornography or drug use. After Miller kindly stated that she could not do so—based on her belief in God’s design for marriage to be between a man and a woman—she offered to refer the couple to another bakery. 

Miller’s business was then harassed with emails, phone calls and social media posts containing threatening and profane messages. A man assaulted an employee behind the bakery and referred to the case during the attack.  

The California Department of Civil Rights filed a complaint on behalf of the two individuals Miller had declined serving. Six years after the initial prosecution, the Superior Court of California ruled in Miller’s favor. Appealing the court’s decision, the case went to the California District Court of Appeal, where the court ruled against Miller on Feb. 11. The California Supreme Court denied Miller’s appeal on May 28. 

Adèle Keim, senior counsel at Becket, argues the decision contradicts two Supreme Court decisions, one of which is Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In that case, the court ruled that forcing Christian baker Jack Phillips to create a cake that celebrates gender-transitioning violates his right to the free exercise of religion. 

“As the United States Supreme Court has made clear twice already, creative professionals like Cathy Miller shouldn’t have to choose between following their faithand practicing their art,” said Keim. “California should have dropped its campaign against Cathy years ago and let her design in peace. We plan to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court to defend Cathy’s right to make custom creations that are consistent with her faith.”  

Charles LiMandri, partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP and Thomas More Society special counsel, also responded to the ruling.

“Cathy has always been clear that she was only trying to follow her faith and her conscience in standing up for what she believes in—and did so in a respectful, polite, and loving way,” LiMandri said. “While it is disappointing the California Supreme Court has refused to correct the injustice Cathy has endured, we hope the U.S. Supreme Court will chart a different path and restore Cathy’s religious liberty.”

Photo: Becket Fund for Religious Liberty