164-651: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission , 584 U.S. 617 (2018), was a case in the Supreme Court of the United States that addressed whether owners of public accommodations can refuse certain services based on the First Amendment claims of free speech and free exercise of religion , and therefore be granted an exemption from laws ensuring non-discrimination in public accommodations—in particular, by refusing to provide creative services, such as making
328-508: A law criminalizing same-sex sexual acts in Belize (ruled unconstitutional in 2016). The ADF denied playing any role in the case. In the United Kingdom, ADF International advocated in favor of a mother's custody of her child, against the custody of the child's father and his same-sex partner. ADF also has links to the former prime minister of Australia, Tony Abbott , an outspoken opponent of
492-418: A 6–3 vote. The organization has worked to prevent transgender athletes from playing sports with the gender they identify with, through lawsuits and by lobbying state legislatures. In April 2022, ADF-affiliated lawyers defended a professor at Shawnee State University , Ohio, who refused to use preferred pronouns when referring to a transgender student; the university agreed to a $ 400,000 settlement with
656-459: A Catholic or an Episcopalian . Historically, most justices have been Protestants, including 36 Episcopalians, 19 Presbyterians , 10 Unitarians , 5 Methodists , and 3 Baptists . The first Catholic justice was Roger Taney in 1836, and 1916 saw the appointment of the first Jewish justice, Louis Brandeis . In recent years the historical situation has reversed, as most recent justices have been either Catholic or Jewish. Three justices are from
820-540: A Christian web designer who sought to make wedding announcement websites for heterosexual couples only. She feared punishment under Colorado's anti-discrimination law and thus aimed to block the law as a violation of her First Amendment rights. On June 30, 2023, the Court ruled in the web designer's favor, stating that Colorado's anti-discrimination law cannot compel a website designer to create products that include speech they disagree with. Masterpiece Cakeshop became involved in
984-630: A Commission charged with the solemn responsibility of fair and neutral enforcement of Colorado’s anti-discrimination law". Kennedy's opinion also cited the three exemptions the Commission previously granted for the non-discrimination law arising from the William Jack complaints. The opinion also noted differences in handling previous exemptions as indicative of Commission hostility towards religious belief, rather than maintaining neutrality. Kennedy's opinion noted that he may have been inclined to rule in favor of
1148-568: A bakery by the Oregon Court of Appeals, with the baker petitioning the federal Supreme Court to hear the case. In June 2019, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, and in a summary judgement, vacated the Appeals Court ruling and required the case be heard again in light of the decision on Masterpiece . Masterpiece ' s basis of evaluating statements of public officials to determine if there
1312-559: A bigger court would reduce the power of the swing justice , ensure the court has "a greater diversity of views", and make confirmation of new justices less politically contentious. There are currently nine justices on the Supreme Court: Chief Justice John Roberts and eight associate justices. Among the current members of the court, Clarence Thomas is the longest-serving justice, with a tenure of 12,091 days ( 33 years, 37 days) as of November 29, 2024;
1476-542: A chief justice and five associate justices through the Judiciary Act of 1789 . The size of the court was first altered by the Midnight Judges Act of 1801 which would have reduced the size of the court to five members upon its next vacancy (as federal judges have life tenure ), but the Judiciary Act of 1802 promptly negated the 1801 act, restoring the court's size to six members before any such vacancy occurred. As
1640-571: A chief justice and five associate justices. The act also divided the country into judicial districts, which were in turn organized into circuits. Justices were required to "ride circuit" and hold circuit court twice a year in their assigned judicial district. Immediately after signing the act into law, President George Washington nominated the following people to serve on the court: John Jay for chief justice and John Rutledge , William Cushing , Robert H. Harrison , James Wilson , and John Blair Jr. as associate justices. All six were confirmed by
1804-514: A commission, to which the Seal of the Department of Justice must be affixed, before the appointee can take office. The seniority of an associate justice is based on the commissioning date, not the confirmation or swearing-in date. After receiving their commission, the appointee must then take the two prescribed oaths before assuming their official duties. The importance of the oath taking is underscored by
SECTION 10
#17328486146251968-533: A corporation's freedom of speech in his majority opinion for Citizens United v. FEC 558 U.S. 310 (2010), and freedom of religion through his concurrence with the majority in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. 573 U.S. 682 (2014). The Court issued its ruling on June 4, 2018, reversing the decision of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Justice Anthony Kennedy authored
2132-579: A custom wedding cake for the marriage of a gay couple , on the basis of the owner's religious beliefs. The case dealt with Masterpiece Cakeshop, a bakery in Lakewood , Colorado , which refused to design a custom wedding cake for a gay couple based on the owner's religious beliefs. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission evaluated the case under the state's anti-discrimination law , the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. The commission found that
2296-475: A different court, seeking more than $ 100,000 in damages, fines, and attorney's fees. On June 15, 2021, Denver District Judge A. Bruce Jones ruled that Phillips had violated Colorado's anti-discrimination law by refusing to bake a cake for Scardina and fined him $ 500. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the group representing Phillips, said it would appeal. In October 2022, the Colorado Court of Appeals heard
2460-465: A donation from Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Net assets were approximately $ 49 million in 2020, $ 57 million in 2021, and $ 78.5 million in 2022. ADF won a Supreme Court case that ended California's requirement for non-profits to release the names of their major donors, Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta (2021). Thus, while donors' identities are reported on federal tax returns, that information
2624-549: A floor vote in the Senate. A president may withdraw a nomination before an actual confirmation vote occurs, typically because it is clear that the Senate will reject the nominee; this occurred with President George W. Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers in 2005. The Senate may also fail to act on a nomination, which expires at the end of the session. President Dwight Eisenhower 's first nomination of John Marshall Harlan II in November 1954
2788-456: A justice, but made appointments during their subsequent terms in office. No president who has served more than one full term has gone without at least one opportunity to make an appointment. One of the smallest supreme courts in the world, the U.S. Supreme Court consists of nine members: one chief justice and eight associate justices. The U.S. Constitution does not specify the size of the Supreme Court, nor does it specify any specific positions for
2952-423: A married mother and father." ADF provided legal support to the defendants in two Supreme Court cases dealing with the intersection of freedom of religion against Colorado's anti-discrimination laws for public-serving businesses, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2022); in both cases, the underlying issue was whether Christian business owners, under
3116-481: A narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party." In 1803, the Court asserted itself the power of judicial review , the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution via the landmark case Marbury v Madison . It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either
3280-560: A national judicial authority consisting of tribunals chosen by the national legislature. It was proposed that the judiciary should have a role in checking the executive's power to veto or revise laws. Eventually, the framers compromised by sketching only a general outline of the judiciary in Article Three of the United States Constitution , vesting federal judicial power in "one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as
3444-420: A number of cases before the Supreme Court, taking positions including support for religious activity in public school and Christian prayer at town meetings , narrowing insurance coverage for contraceptives , prohibiting same-sex marriage , and supporting businesses in the wedding industry that refuse to service gay marriages. ADF lawyers wrote the model for Mississippi's anti-abortion legislation, leading to
SECTION 20
#17328486146253608-450: A president may make temporary appointments to fill vacancies. Recess appointees hold office only until the end of the next Senate session (less than two years). The Senate must confirm the nominee for them to continue serving; of the two chief justices and eleven associate justices who have received recess appointments, only Chief Justice John Rutledge was not subsequently confirmed. No U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has made
3772-402: A recess appointment to the court, and the practice has become rare and controversial even in lower federal courts. In 1960, after Eisenhower had made three such appointments, the Senate passed a "sense of the Senate" resolution that recess appointments to the court should only be made in "unusual circumstances"; such resolutions are not legally binding but are an expression of Congress's views in
3936-469: A similar case in 2018. In June 2017, on the same day the Supreme Court agreed to hear Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission , the bakery had refused to bake a birthday cake with a pink interior and blue exterior for Autumn Scardina, a transgender woman and Colorado lawyer. Phillips stated later that he had refused based on his Christian beliefs that a person does not get to choose their gender. According to Scardina, Phillips initially accepted
4100-459: A violation of equal protection ( United States v. Virginia ), laws against sodomy as violations of substantive due process ( Lawrence v. Texas ) and the line-item veto ( Clinton v. New York ) but upheld school vouchers ( Zelman v. Simmons-Harris ) and reaffirmed Roe ' s restrictions on abortion laws ( Planned Parenthood v. Casey ). The court's decision in Bush v. Gore , which ended
4264-575: A wedding cake "was because of its opposition to same sex marriage which...is tantamount to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation". The Supreme Court of Colorado declined to hear an appeal. Masterpiece Cakeshop petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari (review), under the case name Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission , of the following question: Whether applying Colorado's public accommodations law to compel Phillips to create expression that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage violates
4428-433: A wedding cake from a different vendor in the state. Masterpiece further argued that the anti-discrimination law can be used to selectively discriminate against religion, as the Commission has allowed bakers to refuse to provide cakes with anti-same-sex marriage messages on them, even though the Commission said these refusals were appropriate due to the offensiveness of the messages and not on the basis of religion. The State and
4592-491: Is a Christian , declined their cake request, informing the couple that he did not create wedding cakes for marriages of gay couples owing to his Christian religious beliefs, although the couple could purchase other baked goods in the store. Craig and Mullins promptly left Masterpiece without discussing with Phillips any of the details of their wedding cake. The following day, Craig's mother, Deborah Munn, called Phillips, who advised her that Masterpiece did not make wedding cakes for
4756-587: Is accepted practice in the legislative and executive branches, organizations such as the Federalist Society do officially filter and endorse judges that have a sufficiently conservative view of the law. Jurists are often informally categorized in the media as being conservatives or liberal. Attempts to quantify the ideologies of jurists include the Segal–Cover score , Martin-Quinn score , and Judicial Common Space score. Devins and Baum argue that before 2010,
4920-677: Is incorporated in a number of European countries under "ADF International": Belgium, Germany (as ADF International Deutschland), France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Austria (as ADF International Austria GmbH). The organization also lobbies the European Union Parliament via ADF International Belgium, which participates in the intergroup organization "Freedom of Religion and Religious Tolerance." As part of EU advocacy, its members have presented on issues including Christian minority persecution in Iraq and Myanmar. ADF International's budget
5084-480: Is justified, because "We look like a social service agency, but we're a community of Christ followers and our faith in Christ is the most important part of who we are." A Catholic woman sued the agency after being rejected on the basis of religion, but the agency later changed its rules to permit "Catholics who affirm Miracle Hill's doctrinal statement in belief and practice to serve as foster parents and employees." At
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission - Misplaced Pages Continue
5248-586: Is not required to be made public under IRS regulations. The Servant Foundation donated over $ 50,000,000 to the Alliance Defending Freedom between 2018 and 2020, via the foundation's financial arm, The Signatry. The most public use of these funds has been the " He Gets Us " campaign during Super Bowl commercial breaks. Other donors include: the Green family , the Covenant Foundation,
5412-653: Is one of the most organized and influential Christian legal interest groups in the United States based on its budget, caseload, network of allied attorneys, and connections to significant members of the political right . Mike Johnson , a former ADF attorney, was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 25, 2023. Others who have been associated with ADF include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett , former vice president Mike Pence , former attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions , and Senator Josh Hawley . ADF attorneys have argued
5576-450: Is one of the smallest supreme courts in the world. David Litt argues the court is too small to represent the perspectives of a country the United States' size. Lawyer and legal scholar Jonathan Turley has advocated for 19 justices, but with the court being gradually expanded by no more than two new members per subsequent president, bringing the U.S. Supreme Court to a similar size as its counterparts in other developed countries. He says that
5740-616: Is primarily remembered for its ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford , which helped precipitate the American Civil War . In the Reconstruction era , the Chase , Waite , and Fuller Courts (1864–1910) interpreted the new Civil War amendments to the Constitution and developed the doctrine of substantive due process ( Lochner v. New York ; Adair v. United States ). The size of the court
5904-599: Is the role the customer's 'statutorily protected trait' played in the denial of service". The Court avoided ruling broadly on the intersection of anti-discrimination laws and rights to free exercise. Instead the court addressed both sides. State actors like the Colorado Civil Rights Commission on the one hand must ensure neutral and respectful consideration of claims for religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws which are made by people who exercise their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. However, this exemption will not apply broadly because future disputes like
6068-620: Is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority ... each of you, all of us." The organization pursues "strategies for reclaiming the judicial system as it was originally envisioned," most notably through litigation. The ADF has been involved in several United States Supreme Court cases that would permit use of public buildings and public funds for religious purposes, such as Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995) and Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001). ADF also supports allowing Christian prayer at public town meetings (see Town of Greece v. Galloway ) and
6232-507: The 1787 Constitutional Convention established the parameters for the national judiciary . Creating a "third branch" of government was a novel idea ; in the English tradition, judicial matters had been treated as an aspect of royal (executive) authority. Early on, the delegates who were opposed to having a strong central government argued that national laws could be enforced by state courts, while others, including James Madison , advocated for
6396-454: The 2020 presidential election and made false claims of voter fraud, Farris worked to overturn the election results , drafting a legal complaint with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the unsuccessful case Texas v. Pennsylvania . On October 1, 2022, Kristen Waggoner succeeded Farris as CEO and President of ADF, retaining her role as General Counsel. Since 2010, ADF's global arm, ADF International, has been increasingly active around
6560-697: The Alliance Defense Fund , is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious liberties and practices within public schools and in government, outlaw abortion , and oppose LGBTQ rights . ADF is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona , with branch offices in several locations including Washington, D.C. , and New York . Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in Vienna , Austria, operates in over 100 countries. ADF
6724-852: The Bolthouse Foundation , the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation , the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation , the Bradley Foundation , and the Charles Koch Institute. The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust , one of largest charities in the Pacific Northwest , donated nearly $ 1,000,000 to ADF from 2007 to 2016. ADF's positions include supporting religion in public institutions, opposing LGBTQ rights, opposing abortion and contraception, and other positions aligned with conservative Christianity in
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission - Misplaced Pages Continue
6888-612: The Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment . Both the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal, fearing that a Court decision in favor of the business would create a "gaping hole" in civil rights laws on the basis of religion. The final briefs at the certiorari stage were received in December 2016. The Court agreed to hear
7052-624: The Masterpiece decision was reflected in lower courts that same week, in a case decided by the Arizona Court of Appeals , Brush & Nib Studio v. Phoenix , which upheld the city of Phoenix 's anti-discrimination ordinance that included sexual orientation. The Court of Appeals extensively quoted Masterpiece in affirming the Arizona Superior Court 's prior decision. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Masterpiece, supported
7216-618: The Reagan administration Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, which produced the 1986 Meese Report . Sears led the organization for over 20 years, until 2017. From 2017 to 2022, Michael Farris , the founder of Patrick Henry College , was CEO of ADF. Farris lobbied Congress for the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. He has been closely associated with the Christian homeschooling movement since
7380-568: The Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Justices have lifetime tenure , meaning they remain on the court until they die, retire, resign, or are impeached and removed from office. When a vacancy occurs, the president , with the advice and consent of the Senate , appoints a new justice. Each justice has a single vote in deciding the cases argued before the court. When in the majority,
7544-448: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of the plaintiff, represented by ADF, for the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis case. The ruling sparked widespread criticism regarding whether the plaintiff lacked standing. These criticisms prompted several articles myth-busting the attackers on the plaintiff's standing. ADF has long opposed abortion , and has litigated to restrict access to abortion and contraception in
7708-411: The assassination of Abraham Lincoln , was denied the opportunity to appoint a justice by a reduction in the size of the court . Jimmy Carter is the only person elected president to have left office after at least one full term without having the opportunity to appoint a justice. Presidents James Monroe , Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George W. Bush each served a full term without an opportunity to appoint
7872-406: The balance of power between the federal government and states, notably Martin v. Hunter's Lessee , McCulloch v. Maryland , and Gibbons v. Ogden . The Marshall Court also ended the practice of each justice issuing his opinion seriatim , a remnant of British tradition, and instead issuing a single majority opinion. Also during Marshall's tenure, although beyond the court's control,
8036-437: The birth control mandate in employee funded health plans violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 since there existed a less restrictive means of furthering the law's interest. The ADF's first president, CEO and Chief Counsel was Alan Sears, who was also a founder of the organization. Sears has been described as "an ardent antipornography crusader", and had previously served as staff executive director of
8200-554: The death penalty , ruling first that most applications were defective ( Furman v. Georgia ), but later that the death penalty itself was not unconstitutional ( Gregg v. Georgia ). The Rehnquist Court (1986–2005) was known for its revival of judicial enforcement of federalism , emphasizing the limits of the Constitution's affirmative grants of power ( United States v. Lopez ) and the force of its restrictions on those powers ( Seminole Tribe v. Florida , City of Boerne v. Flores ). It struck down single-sex state schools as
8364-528: The recriminalization of homosexual acts in the U.S. ( prior to 1962, sodomy had been a felony in every U.S. state ), filing a Supreme Court brief supporting Texas' sodomy law in the landmark Lawrence v. Texas case which declared sodomy laws unconstitutional; it linked homosexuality to pedophilia . ADF also opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions , as well as adoption by same-sex couples , based on its leaders' "belief that God created men, women, and families such that children thrive best in homes with
SECTION 50
#17328486146258528-420: The 1980s and is the founder of the Christian organization Home School Legal Defense Association , which offers legal representation to home-schooling parents. In 2016, Farris voiced opposition to Donald Trump 's candidacy for president , opining that "Trump most clearly fails the traditional standard championed by the Christian right on the subject of personal character." However, after Trump refused to concede
8692-596: The ACLU countered these points, stating that the law was aimed only at conduct of a business, not their speech, and in cases like a wedding cake, "[no] reasonable observer would understand the Company's provision of a cake to a gay couple as an expression of its approval of the customer's marriage". They further argued that the cakeshop could provide catchall language to explain that any services they provide do not endorse any expressions of free speech associated with it, an allowance within
8856-527: The ADF was part of a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that religious clubs must be afforded equal access to use public school facilities. In 2022, ADF took on a case defending a Tennessee-based Christian adoption agency that refused to work with Jewish prospective parents. The case, which names the State of Tennessee as a defendant for its law permitting religious organizations to reject applicants based on faith,
9020-772: The Bill of Rights, such as in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ( First Amendment ), Heller – McDonald – Bruen ( Second Amendment ), and Baze v. Rees ( Eighth Amendment ). Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution , known as the Appointments Clause , empowers the president to nominate and, with the confirmation ( advice and consent ) of the United States Senate, to appoint public officials , including justices of
9184-602: The Civil Rights Forum, a group of plaintiff-side civil rights attorneys. The National Women's Law Center argued in its amicus brief that just as the Court compared the effects of race and sexual discrimination in Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees , it should compare those harms to those created by sexual-orientation discrimination in this case. The United States Department of Justice under the Trump administration , supported Phillips. While
9348-504: The Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and David D. Cole of the ACLU, on behalf of Craig and Mullins. Questions asked by the Justices attempted to determine where the bounds of a cake baker's rights and the rights of those soliciting his services would extend by considering several hypothetical situations involving the making of and selling custom cakes, including situations related to racial and gender-preference discrimination. Experts believed
9512-499: The Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union represented Craig and Mullins during the appeals. The state's decision was upheld on the grounds that despite the nature of creating a custom cake, the act of making the cake was part of the expected conduct of Phillips's business, and not an expression of free speech nor free exercise of religion. The court distinguished its decision in Craig from another case, brought to
9676-470: The Colorado Supreme Court dismissed the case in a 4-3 ruling, saying that Scardina had lacked standing to sue as she had not exhausted her options to seek redress through another court before filing her lawsuit. The Court did not rule on whether Phillips had discriminated against Scardina or whether Phillips' First Amendment rights had been violated. Justice Melissa Hart wrote "We express no view on
9840-417: The Commission by William Jack, in which three bakeries refused to create a cake for William Jack with the message "Homosexuality is a detestable sin. Leviticus 18:22", citing that in the latter, the bakeries had made other cakes for Christian customers and declined that order based on the offensive message rather than the customers' creed, whereas Masterpiece Cakeshop's refusal to provide Craig and Mullins with
10004-487: The Commission if it had remained religiously neutral in its evaluation. Justice Kagan wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Breyer, emphasizing the narrow grounds of the ruling. Justice Gorsuch also wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Alito. Both Kagan's and Gorsuch's concurrences considered how the Commission handled Masterpiece differently than prior exemption requests. Both agreed that the Commission exhibited hostility towards Phillips's religious beliefs and concurred with
SECTION 60
#173284861462510168-494: The Commission's decision. The Court did not rule on the broader intersection of anti-discrimination laws, free exercise of religion, and freedom of speech, due to the complications of the Commission's lack of religious neutrality. In 2012, same-sex couple Charlie Craig and David Mullins from Colorado made plans to be lawfully married in Massachusetts and return to Colorado to celebrate with their family and friends. At that time
10332-507: The Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." They delineated neither the exact powers and prerogatives of the Supreme Court nor the organization of the judicial branch as a whole. The 1st United States Congress provided the detailed organization of a federal judiciary through the Judiciary Act of 1789 . The Supreme Court, the country's highest judicial tribunal, was to sit in the nation's capital and would initially be composed of
10496-413: The Constitution or statutory law . Under Article Three of the United States Constitution , the composition and procedures of the Supreme Court were originally established by the 1st Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789 . As it has since 1869, the court consists of nine justices – the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices – who meet at
10660-410: The Constitution provides that justices "shall hold their offices during good behavior", which is understood to mean that they may serve for the remainder of their lives, until death; furthermore, the phrase is generally interpreted to mean that the only way justices can be removed from office is by Congress via the impeachment process . The Framers of the Constitution chose good behavior tenure to limit
10824-456: The Court never had clear ideological blocs that fell perfectly along party lines. In choosing their appointments, Presidents often focused more on friendship and political connections than on ideology. Republican presidents sometimes appointed liberals and Democratic presidents sometimes appointed conservatives. As a result, "... between 1790 and early 2010 there were only two decisions that the Guide to
10988-420: The Court's decision in finding that condemned the Commission's review of Phillips's case, stating that "Tolerance and respect for good-faith differences of opinion are essential in a society like ours". The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the part of the decision affirming protection of gay rights, stating that the Court "reaffirmed its longstanding rule that states can prevent the harms of discrimination in
11152-542: The Department asserts that anti-discrimination laws are necessary to prevent businesses that provide goods and services from discriminating, these laws cannot be used to compel a business into expressing speech they do not agree with, nor used to provide goods and services with such expressions without the ability for the business to assert they do not agree with those expressions. The brief was criticized by several organizations, including those that support LGBT rights , claiming
11316-557: The Family ; D. James Kennedy , Evangelist pastor and founder of Coral Ridge Ministries ; Marlin Maddoux , a Christian radio radio personality ; Mark Siljander , former U.S. Congressman; and Alan Sears , former director of the Meese Commission and a devout Catholic . In its early years, Alliance Defense Fund funded legal cases rather than litigating directly. It particularly targeted
11480-533: The Reagan administration to the present, the process has taken much longer and some believe this is because Congress sees justices as playing a more political role than in the past. According to the Congressional Research Service , the average number of days from nomination to final Senate vote since 1975 is 67 days (2.2 months), while the median is 71 days (2.3 months). When the Senate is in recess ,
11644-698: The Recess Appointments Clause, the Senate is in session when it says it is, provided that, under its own rules, it retains the capacity to transact Senate business." This ruling allows the Senate to prevent recess appointments through the use of pro-forma sessions . Lifetime tenure of justices can only be found for US federal judges and the State of Rhode Island's Supreme Court justices, with all other democratic nations and all other US states having set term limits or mandatory retirement ages. Larry Sabato wrote: "The insularity of lifetime tenure, combined with
11808-410: The Senate may not set any qualifications or otherwise limit who the president can choose. In modern times, the confirmation process has attracted considerable attention from the press and advocacy groups, which lobby senators to confirm or to reject a nominee depending on whether their track record aligns with the group's views. The Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings and votes on whether
11972-581: The Senate on September 26, 1789; however, Harrison declined to serve, and Washington later nominated James Iredell in his place. The Supreme Court held its inaugural session from February 2 through February 10, 1790, at the Royal Exchange in New York City, then the U.S. capital. A second session was held there in August 1790. The earliest sessions of the court were devoted to organizational proceedings, as
12136-870: The Senate, and remained in office until his death in 1811. Two justices, William O. Douglas and Abe Fortas were subjected to hearings from the Judiciary Committee, with Douglas being the subject of hearings twice, in 1953 and again in 1970 and Fortas resigned while hearings were being organized in 1969. On July 10, 2024, Representative Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez filed Articles of Impeachment against justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito , citing their "widely documented financial and personal entanglements." Because justices have indefinite tenure, timing of vacancies can be unpredictable. Sometimes they arise in quick succession, as in September 1971, when Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan II left within days of each other,
12300-822: The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to overrule Roe v. Wade that had established a right to abortion in America in 1973. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designates ADF as an anti-LGBT hate group , saying in 2017 that since the election of President Donald Trump ADF had become "one of the most influential groups informing the [Trump] administration's attack on LGBTQ rights ". The ADF has taken many anti-LGBT positions: it opposes same-sex marriage , decriminalization of same-sex sexual activity , and anti-discrimination laws , and takes an active role in writing model anti- transgender bills for state legislators. The Alliance Defense Fund
12464-542: The Supreme Court's opinions in the case would be divided, with the ultimate decision falling on the opinion of Justice Anthony Kennedy , who has historically been a swing vote in his term. In his past case history, he had been a strong supporter of gay rights (having authored all of the landmark gay rights rulings by the Supreme Court: Romer v. Evans in 1996, Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, United States v. Windsor in 2013, and Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015), and
12628-425: The Supreme Court. This clause is one example of the system of checks and balances inherent in the Constitution. The president has the plenary power to nominate, while the Senate possesses the plenary power to reject or confirm the nominee. The Constitution sets no qualifications for service as a justice, such as age, citizenship, residence or prior judicial experience, thus a president may nominate anyone to serve, and
12792-566: The U.S. Supreme Court designated as important and that had at least two dissenting votes in which the Justices divided along party lines, about one-half of one percent." Even in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, Democratic and Republican elites tended to agree on some major issues, especially concerning civil rights and civil liberties—and so did the justices. But since 1991, they argue, ideology has been much more important in choosing justices—all Republican appointees have been committed conservatives and all Democratic appointees have been liberals. As
12956-468: The US and in other countries. In the 2022 decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law that was the nation's first-ever 15-week abortion ban, thereby overturning Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The Mississippi law was based on ADF's model legislation, specifically designed to provoke a legal challenge that would be appealed to
13120-420: The United States, aimed at restricting transgender people's use of public bathrooms. In 2020, the ADF lost a Supreme Court case in which they argued that employers should be allowed to discriminate against transgender people. ADF attorneys defended a funeral home that fired a trans employee in the Supreme Court case, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , losing in
13284-527: The United States. Issue advocacy as a function of press releases (2017) According to materials for its donors, ADF seeks to spread a belief in "the framers' original intent for the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights as it reflects God's natural law and God's higher law." Before taking the oath of office as Speaker of the House of Representatives, current , former ADF lawyer Mike Johnson stated, "The Bible
13448-482: The age of 70 years 6 months and refused retirement, up to a maximum bench of 15 justices. The proposal was ostensibly to ease the burden of the docket on elderly judges, but the actual purpose was widely understood as an effort to "pack" the court with justices who would support Roosevelt's New Deal. The plan, usually called the " court-packing plan ", failed in Congress after members of Roosevelt's own Democratic Party believed it to be unconstitutional. It
13612-412: The anti-discrimination implications of the case, despite significant attention during oral arguments. Thomas expressed support for Masterpiece, both on grounds of free speech and free exercise. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor . Ginsburg believed that the Commission acted fairly in evaluating the case, saying "what critically differentiates them
13776-571: The anti-discrimination law, were compelled to create works with LGBT messaging that they said went against their Christian faith. In 2021, the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from ADF attorneys on behalf of a florist who refused to serve her clients' same-sex wedding , with three of the nine justices indicating they were willing to hear the case. The organization has worked internationally to prevent decriminalization of homosexuality in Jamaica and Belize. The SPLC has reported on ADF support for
13940-594: The anti-discrimination law. Around 100 legal briefs were filed by third parties, roughly equally split in supporting either side of the case. Many civil rights organizations filed briefs in support of Craig and Mullins, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Southern Poverty Law Center, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and
14104-451: The appointments of relatively young attorneys who give long service on the bench, produces senior judges representing the views of past generations better than views of the current day." Sanford Levinson has been critical of justices who stayed in office despite medical deterioration based on longevity. James MacGregor Burns stated lifelong tenure has "produced a critical time lag, with the Supreme Court institutionally almost always behind
14268-432: The bakery discriminated against her transgender status, and ordered the parties into compulsory mediation. In August 2018, Phillips sued the state, seeking a permanent injunction against enforcement of the relevant anti-discrimination law against him. He also sought punitive damages. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper , named as a defendant in the suit, expected the Supreme Court to revisit its decision from Masterpiece , as
14432-416: The bakery had discriminated against the couple and issued specific orders for the bakery. Following appeals within the state, the Commission's decision against the bakery was affirmed, so the bakery took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 7–2 decision, the Court ruled that the Commission did not employ religious neutrality, violating Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips's rights to free exercise, and reversed
14596-561: The basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Colorado is one of twenty-one U.S. states that include sexual orientation as a protected class in their anti-discrimination laws . Craig and Mullins's complaint resulted in a lawsuit, Craig v. Masterpiece Cakeshop . The case was decided in favor of the plaintiffs; the cake shop was ordered not only to provide cakes to same-sex marriages, but to "change its company policies, provide 'comprehensive staff training' regarding public accommodations discrimination, and provide quarterly reports for
14760-536: The behest of Chief Justice Chase , and in an attempt by the Republican Congress to limit the power of Democrat Andrew Johnson , Congress passed the Judicial Circuits Act of 1866, providing that the next three justices to retire would not be replaced, which would thin the bench to seven justices by attrition. Consequently, one seat was removed in 1866 and a second in 1867. Soon after Johnson left office,
14924-755: The brief as a pattern of hostile actions by the Trump administration and fearing that a decision in favor of Masterpiece would enable such businesses to have a "license to discriminate". Oral arguments for the plaintiffs were provided by Kristen Waggoner for the Alliance Defending Freedom, representing Phillips, and the Solicitor General of the United States Noel Francisco , presenting the federal government's case as amicus curiae in support of Masterpiece Cakeshop. The defendants' arguments were given by Colorado Solicitor General Frederick Yarger, on behalf of
15088-608: The case by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Commenting on an earlier case in South Carolina, an ADF spokesperson expressed support for an evangelical foster care provider in South Carolina that rejects Jewish prospective parents, as well as LGBTQ people, atheists, and other non-Christians. The agency, Miracle Hill Ministries, is the largest foster and adoption agency in South Carolina and receives public funding; its president has stated that its religious discrimination policy
15252-471: The case in the 2017 term and heard oral arguments on December 5, 2017. Masterpiece requested that the Supreme Court review the Colorado anti-discrimination law under strict scrutiny . It argued that while the state's law was intended to assure that same-sex couples had access to the same services as heterosexual couples, the law went too far in its enforcement, since Craig and Mullins were easily able to obtain
15416-525: The case of Edwin M. Stanton . Although confirmed by the Senate on December 20, 1869, and duly commissioned as an associate justice by President Ulysses S. Grant , Stanton died on December 24, prior to taking the prescribed oaths. He is not, therefore, considered to have been a member of the court. Before 1981, the approval process of justices was usually rapid. From the Truman through Nixon administrations, justices were typically approved within one month. From
15580-607: The case. On January 26, 2023, the court ruled that a pink-and-blue cake was not a protected form of speech and that the state nondiscrimination law did not violate the baker's freedom of religion. Phillips appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court in oral arguments in June 2024; Phillips urged the lower court decision to be reversed based on the 303 Creative decision from the United States Supreme Court. In October 2024,
15744-403: The chief justice decides who writes the opinion of the court ; otherwise, the most senior justice in the majority assigns the task of writing the opinion. On average, the Supreme Court receives about 7,000 petitions for writs of certiorari each year, but only grants about 80. It was while debating the separation of powers between the legislative and executive departments that delegates to
15908-542: The civil rights movement and established anti-discrimination law. This is particularly important today, in 2018, when people of color are still experiencing persistent and widespread discrimination while they shop, eat, or access other public spaces." Another predominate case involving anti-discrimination laws and religious freedom that was in the court system during Masterpiece was the Arlene's Flowers lawsuit in Washington, with
16072-446: The committee reports out the nomination, the full Senate considers it. Rejections are relatively uncommon; the Senate has explicitly rejected twelve Supreme Court nominees, most recently Robert Bork , nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. Although Senate rules do not necessarily allow a negative or tied vote in committee to block a nomination, prior to 2017 a nomination could be blocked by filibuster once debate had begun in
16236-565: The context of recognizing that these disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market". Kennedy's decision affirmed that there remains protection of same-sex couples and gay rights which states can still enforce through anti-discrimination laws, a point also agreed to by Ginsburg's dissent. The general constitutionality of anti-discrimination laws to prevent discrimination against sexual orientation affirmed by
16400-503: The court (by order of seniority following the Chief Justice) include: For much of the court's history, every justice was a man of Northwestern European descent, and almost always Protestant . Diversity concerns focused on geography, to represent all regions of the country, rather than religious, ethnic, or gender diversity. Racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the court increased in the late 20th century. Thurgood Marshall became
16564-497: The court continued to favor government power, upholding the internment of Japanese Americans ( Korematsu v. United States ) and the mandatory Pledge of Allegiance ( Minersville School District v. Gobitis ). Nevertheless, Gobitis was soon repudiated ( West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette ), and the Steel Seizure Case restricted the pro-government trend. The Warren Court (1953–1969) dramatically expanded
16728-437: The court initially had only six members, every decision that it made by a majority was also made by two-thirds (voting four to two). However, Congress has always allowed less than the court's full membership to make decisions, starting with a quorum of four justices in 1789. The court lacked a home of its own and had little prestige, a situation not helped by the era's highest-profile case, Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which
16892-425: The court is composed of six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three appointed by Democratic presidents. It is popularly accepted that Chief Justice Roberts and associate justices Thomas , Alito , Gorsuch , Kavanaugh , and Barrett, appointed by Republican presidents, compose the court's conservative wing, and that Justices Sotomayor , Kagan , and Jackson , appointed by Democratic presidents, compose
17056-562: The court the most conservative since the 1930s as well as calls for an expansion in the court's size to fix what some saw as an imbalance, with Republicans having appointed 14 of the 18 justices immediately preceding Amy Coney Barrett . In April 2021, during the 117th Congress , some Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced the Judiciary Act of 2021, a bill to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 seats. It met divided views within
17220-667: The court's liberal wing. Prior to Justice Ginsburg's death in 2020, the conservative Chief Justice Roberts was sometimes described as the court's 'median justice' (with four justices more liberal and four more conservative than he is). Darragh Roche argues that Kavanaugh as 2021's median justice exemplifies the rightward shift in the court. Alliance Defending Freedom Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The Alliance Defending Freedom ( ADF ), formerly
17384-577: The court's members. The Constitution assumes the existence of the office of the chief justice, because it mentions in Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 that "the Chief Justice" must preside over impeachment trials of the President of the United States . The power to define the Supreme Court's size and membership has been assumed to belong to Congress, which initially established a six-member Supreme Court composed of
17548-457: The decision of Masterpiece should have been used to judge President Trump and his administration's statements that she believed showed hostility towards Muslims and would have not justified the ban. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis in February 2022, which again dealt with Colorado's anti-discrimination laws as they apply to public businesses. The case concerned
17712-794: The electoral recount during the 2000 United States presidential election , remains especially controversial with debate ongoing over the rightful winner and whether or not the ruling should set a precedent. The Roberts Court (2005–present) is regarded as more conservative and controversial than the Rehnquist Court. Some of its major rulings have concerned federal preemption ( Wyeth v. Levine ), civil procedure ( Twombly – Iqbal ), voting rights and federal preclearance ( Shelby County ), abortion ( Gonzales v. Carhart and Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ), climate change ( Massachusetts v. EPA ), same-sex marriage ( United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges ), and
17876-470: The first African-American justice in 1967. Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice in 1981. In 1986, Antonin Scalia became the first Italian-American justice. Marshall was succeeded by African-American Clarence Thomas in 1991. O'Connor was joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman on the Court, in 1993. After O'Connor's retirement Ginsburg was joined in 2009 by Sonia Sotomayor ,
18040-1158: The first Hispanic and Latina justice, and in 2010 by Elena Kagan. After Ginsburg's death on September 18, 2020, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed as the fifth woman in the court's history on October 26, 2020. Ketanji Brown Jackson is the sixth woman and first African-American woman on the court. There have been six foreign-born justices in the court's history: James Wilson (1789–1798), born in Caskardy , Scotland; James Iredell (1790–1799), born in Lewes , England; William Paterson (1793–1806), born in County Antrim , Ireland; David Brewer (1889–1910), born to American missionaries in Smyrna , Ottoman Empire (now İzmir , Turkey); George Sutherland (1922–1939), born in Buckinghamshire , England; and Felix Frankfurter (1939–1962), born in Vienna , Austria-Hungary (now in Austria). Since 1789, about one-third of
18204-418: The first cases did not reach it until 1791. When the nation's capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the Supreme Court did so as well. After initially meeting at Independence Hall , the court established its chambers at City Hall. Under chief justices Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth (1789–1801), the court heard few cases; its first decision was West v. Barnes (1791), a case involving procedure. As
18368-558: The force of Constitutional civil liberties . It held that segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ( Brown v. Board of Education , Bolling v. Sharpe , and Green v. County School Bd. ) and that legislative districts must be roughly equal in population ( Reynolds v. Sims ). It recognized a general right to privacy ( Griswold v. Connecticut ), limited
18532-407: The full Senate. President Lyndon B. Johnson 's nomination of sitting associate justice Abe Fortas to succeed Earl Warren as Chief Justice in 1968 was the first successful filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee. It included both Republican and Democratic senators concerned with Fortas's ethics. President Donald Trump 's nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the seat left vacant by Antonin Scalia 's death
18696-529: The hope of guiding executive action. The Supreme Court's 2014 decision in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning limited the ability of the president to make recess appointments (including appointments to the Supreme Court); the court ruled that the Senate decides when the Senate is in session or in recess. Writing for the court, Justice Breyer stated, "We hold that, for purposes of
18860-400: The hostility towards Phillips made by the Commission as their reason to reverse the ruling, but because of the existence of this hostility in the current case, they could not rule on the broader issue regarding anti-discrimination law and the free exercise of religion. Kennedy stated that "[t]he outcome of cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts, all in
19024-454: The impeachment and acquittal of Justice Samuel Chase from 1804 to 1805 helped cement the principle of judicial independence . The Taney Court (1836–1864) made several important rulings, such as Sheldon v. Sill , which held that while Congress may not limit the subjects the Supreme Court may hear, it may limit the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts to prevent them from hearing cases dealing with certain subjects. Nevertheless, it
19188-413: The issue over flower arrangements being provided for a same-sex wedding. Prior to the decision in Masterpiece , a petition for writ of certiorari had been issued to the Supreme Court. Following the decision of Masterpiece , the flower shop owner used that decision to assert that they were shown similar religious hostility, and requested their case to be reheard. On June 25, 2018, the Supreme Court dismissed
19352-471: The justices have been U.S. military veterans. Samuel Alito is the only veteran currently serving on the court. Retired justices Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy also served in the U.S. military. Justices are nominated by the president in power, and receive confirmation by the Senate, historically holding many of the views of the nominating president's political party. While justices do not represent or receive official endorsements from political parties, as
19516-475: The largest legal force of the religious right , arguing hundreds of pro bono cases across the country." In 2014, ADF literature described part of its mission as "[seeking] to recover the robust Christendomic theology of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries." The ADF garnered national attention in its 2014 challenge to the Affordable Care Act . In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. , the Court ruled that
19680-516: The legalization of same-sex marriage in Australia. Abbott gave a speech to ADF regarding marriage in 2016. ADF opposes transgender rights based on an idea that "God creates each person with an immutable biological sex — male or female..." The organization has litigated against transgender employment protections, access to bathrooms, and participation in sports for transgender people. Members of ADF also authored model legislation for bathroom bills in
19844-410: The majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts , and Justices Samuel Alito , Stephen Breyer , Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch . The opinion stated that although a baker, in his capacity as the owner of a business serving the public, "might have his right to the free exercise of his religion limited by generally applicable laws", nevertheless, a State decision "in which religious hostility on
20008-592: The marketplace, including against L.G.B.T. people". The decision was also welcomed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund . Sherrilyn Ifill, LDF's President and Director-Counsel, stated: "The narrow ruling [...] is based on the universal principle that constitutional claims must be heard in every instance before a neutral tribunal. More important was the affirmation of eight Justices that discrimination in public accommodations enjoys no First Amendment protection. This principle has long been an essential piece of
20172-511: The merits of these claims" in the majority opinion. Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States ( SCOTUS ) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States . It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law . It also has original jurisdiction over
20336-405: The more moderate Republican justices retired, the court has become more partisan. The Court became more divided sharply along partisan lines with justices appointed by Republican presidents taking increasingly conservative positions and those appointed by Democrats taking moderate liberal positions. Following the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg ,
20500-428: The most recent justice to join the court is Ketanji Brown Jackson, whose tenure began on June 30, 2022, after being confirmed by the Senate on April 7. This graphical timeline depicts the length of each current Supreme Court justice's tenure (not seniority, as the chief justice has seniority over all associate justices regardless of tenure) on the court: The court currently has five male and four female justices. Among
20664-461: The nation's boundaries grew across the continent and as Supreme Court justices in those days had to ride the circuit , an arduous process requiring long travel on horseback or carriage over harsh terrain that resulted in months-long extended stays away from home, Congress added justices to correspond with the growth such that the number of seats for associate justices plus the chief justice became seven in 1807 , nine in 1837 , and ten in 1863 . At
20828-412: The new president Ulysses S. Grant , a Republican, signed into law the Judiciary Act of 1869 . This returned the number of justices to nine (where it has since remained), and allowed Grant to immediately appoint two more judges. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to expand the court in 1937. His proposal envisioned the appointment of one additional justice for each incumbent justice who reached
20992-435: The next two years regarding steps it has taken to come into compliance and whether it has turned away any prospective customers". Masterpiece appealed the decision to the state Court of Appeals with the aid of Alliance Defending Freedom , and refused to comply with the state's orders, instead opting to remove themselves from the wedding cake business; Phillips claimed that this decision cost him 40% of his business. Alongside
21156-447: The nine justices, there are two African American justices (Justices Thomas and Jackson ) and one Hispanic justice (Justice Sotomayor ). One of the justices was born to at least one immigrant parent: Justice Alito 's father was born in Italy. At least six justices are Roman Catholics , one is Jewish , and one is Protestant . It is unclear whether Neil Gorsuch considers himself
21320-408: The nomination should go to the full Senate with a positive, negative or neutral report. The committee's practice of personally interviewing nominees is relatively recent. The first nominee to appear before the committee was Harlan Fiske Stone in 1925, who sought to quell concerns about his links to Wall Street , and the modern practice of questioning began with John Marshall Harlan II in 1955. Once
21484-495: The one in Masterpiece "must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market". The Supreme Court also specifically made it clear, on the other hand, that gay Americans are also entitled to strong defense rights. Justice Kennedy wrote: "[t]he First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach
21648-541: The order for the pink-and-blue cake but then refused after learning the cake was to be used to celebrate Scardina's gender transition. Scardina stated that she had placed her order at Masterpiece Cakeshop with the intent to "challenge the veracity" of Phillips's assertions that he would serve LGBT customers under circumstances other than those of the earlier case. Scardina complained to the Colorado Division of Civil Rights, which found in June 2018 sufficient evidence that
21812-613: The part of the State itself" is a factor violates the "State's obligation of religious neutrality" under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Kennedy's opinion stated that the Commission's review of Phillips's case exhibited hostility towards his religious views. The Commission compared Phillips's religious beliefs to defense of slavery or the Holocaust . Kennedy found such comparisons "inappropriate for
21976-514: The party, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did not bring it to the floor for a vote. Shortly after taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden established a presidential commission to study possible reforms to the Supreme Court. The commission's December 2021 final report discussed but took no position on expanding the size of the court. At nine members, the U.S. Supreme Court
22140-660: The pending petition, and ordered that lower courts review the flower shop's case in a similar light as Masterpiece . On review at the Washington State Supreme Court, the court ruled against Arlene's Flowers in June 2019 that there was no evidence of religious animus. Similarly, a case from Oregon, Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries , had reached the Oregon Supreme Court before the Supreme Court heard Masterpiece . The Oregon Supreme Court declined to overturn an anti-discrimination ruling made against
22304-399: The power to remove justices and to ensure judicial independence . No constitutional mechanism exists for removing a justice who is permanently incapacitated by illness or injury, but unable (or unwilling) to resign. The only justice ever to be impeached was Samuel Chase , in 1804. The House of Representatives adopted eight articles of impeachment against him; however, he was acquitted by
22468-412: The previous ruling "did not address the basic issue" of religious freedom. In January 2019, when Hickenlooper was no longer governor, a federal judge removed him from the suit. In March 2019, the suit and countersuit between Phillips and the state were dropped. The state argued that, although the core issue (the intersection of nondiscrimination and religious freedom) remained unresolved, the existing case
22632-447: The principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths. Nevertheless, while those religious and philosophical objections are protected, it is a general rule that such objections do not allow business owners and other actors in the economy and in society to deny protected persons equal access to goods and services under a neutral and generally applicable public accommodations law." Kennedy's decision specifically noted
22796-716: The professor. In Europe, ADF International has supported mandatory genital surgery (and consequent sterilization ) of transgender people before they are allowed to change the gender marker on government IDs . However, a decision by the European Court of Human Rights, A.P., Garçon and Nicot v. France , has led France, Greece, Portugal, and several other countries to allow non-medical pathways to gender marker change. In June 2022 several groups opposing trans rights, including Alliance Defending Freedom, WDI USA , Family Research Council and Women's Liberation Front , organized an anti-trans rally in Washington D.C. In June 2023,
22960-438: The request of South Carolina governor Henry McMaster , the Trump administration granted the organization a waiver of federal non-discrimination law. An ADF spokesperson indicated that the organization is "grateful [to] HHS and South Carolina" for granting the waiver, which allows the agency to continue to restrict fostering and adoption work to those who endorse evangelical beliefs. In 2003, ADF unsuccessfully called for
23124-431: The reversal. Kagan posited the Commission could have ruled differently in the two situations if they had stayed religiously neutral. Gorsuch indicated the Commission should maintain consistency among similar cases. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote another opinion, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, joined by Gorsuch. Thomas asserted that the majority opinion did not consider the free speech , free exercise or
23288-423: The role of religion in public school, most prominently Engel v. Vitale and Abington School District v. Schempp , incorporated most guarantees of the Bill of Rights against the states, prominently Mapp v. Ohio (the exclusionary rule ) and Gideon v. Wainwright ( right to appointed counsel ), and required that criminal suspects be apprised of all these rights by police ( Miranda v. Arizona ). At
23452-569: The same time, the court limited defamation suits by public figures ( New York Times Co. v. Sullivan ) and supplied the government with an unbroken run of antitrust victories. The Burger Court (1969–1986) saw a conservative shift. It also expanded Griswold ' s right to privacy to strike down abortion laws ( Roe v. Wade ) but divided deeply on affirmative action ( Regents of the University of California v. Bakke ) and campaign finance regulation ( Buckley v. Valeo ). It also wavered on
23616-407: The shortest period of time between vacancies in the court's history. Sometimes a great length of time passes between vacancies, such as the 11-year span, from 1994 to 2005, from the retirement of Harry Blackmun to the death of William Rehnquist , which was the second longest timespan between vacancies in the court's history. On average a new justice joins the court about every two years. Despite
23780-571: The state constitution prohibited same-sex marriage in Colorado , though by 2014 the state had allowed same-sex marriages, and the Supreme Court of the United States would affirm that gay couples have the fundamental right to marry in Obergefell v. Hodges 576 U.S. 644 (2015). Craig and Mullins visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado , in July 2012 to order a wedding cake for their return celebration. Masterpiece's owner Jack Phillips, who
23944-554: The state of New York, two are from Washington, D.C., and one each is from New Jersey, Georgia, Colorado, and Louisiana. Eight of the current justices received their Juris Doctor from an Ivy League law school : Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and John Roberts from Harvard ; plus Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh , Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas from Yale . Only Amy Coney Barrett did not; she received her Juris Doctor at Notre Dame . Previous positions or offices, judicial or federal government, prior to joining
24108-600: The substantive due process doctrine to its first apogee ( Adkins v. Children's Hospital ). During the Hughes , Stone , and Vinson courts (1930–1953), the court gained its own accommodation in 1935 and changed its interpretation of the Constitution , giving a broader reading to the powers of the federal government to facilitate President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal (most prominently West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish , Wickard v. Filburn , United States v. Darby , and United States v. Butler ). During World War II ,
24272-468: The times." Proposals to solve these problems include term limits for justices, as proposed by Levinson and Sabato and a mandatory retirement age proposed by Richard Epstein , among others. Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 78 argued that one benefit of lifetime tenure was that, "nothing can contribute so much to its firmness and independence as permanency in office." Article Three, Section 1 of
24436-533: The ultraconservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals , and then to the Supreme Court. ADF lawyers served on the Mississippi Attorney General's legal team to defend the ban. That strategy succeeded in ending the legal right to abortion in the United States, and giving states the power to restrict or ban medical care related to pregnancy termination. The ADF has links to at least one Justice of the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett . The ADF represents
24600-427: The use of religious displays (such as crosses and other religious monuments) in public buildings and on public lands . ADF has argued that parents who object to sex education on religious grounds should have the right to opt not to have their children attend. The organization has been involved in many cases religious practice in public schools. In Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001), for example,
24764-447: The variability, all but four presidents have been able to appoint at least one justice. William Henry Harrison died a month after taking office, although his successor ( John Tyler ) made an appointment during that presidential term. Likewise, Zachary Taylor died 16 months after taking office, but his successor ( Millard Fillmore ) also made a Supreme Court nomination before the end of that term. Andrew Johnson, who became president after
24928-440: The weddings of gay couples because of his religious beliefs and because Colorado did not recognize same-sex marriage at the time. While another bakery provided a cake to the couple, Craig and Mullins filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission under the state's public accommodations law, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits businesses open to the public from discriminating against their customers on
25092-429: The work of the American Civil Liberties Union , which its founders saw as contributing to an erosion of Christian values . The Alliance Defense Fund changed its name to Alliance Defending Freedom in 2012. The name change was intended to reflect the organization's shift in focus from funding allied attorneys to directly litigating cases. By 2014 the organization had more than 40 staff attorneys, and had "emerged as
25256-774: The world. In 2015, ADF International stated that it had been involved in "over 500 cases before national and international tribunals," in the United States of America, Argentina, Honduras, India, Mexico, Peru, the European Union Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The organization reported 580 "ongoing legal matters" in fifty-one countries as of 2017, and had a budget of $ 11.5 million worldwide in 2020–2021. The organization established an affiliate group in India (ADF India) in 2012, headquartered in Delhi. In addition, ADF
25420-584: Was US$ 11.5 million (€9,489,000) in FY 2020–21. In the EU , the organization spent about $ 9.8 million (€8.7 million) from 2008 to 2016. In 2020, it reported a budget of about $ 2 million per year (£1.5 million), including approximately $ 430,000 on lobbying EU officials. Its registered EU lobbying group, ADF International Belgium, had five employees and a $ 585,000 budget for the 2022-23 financial year. In its financial disclosure information, ADF International Belgium lists its source as
25584-521: Was defeated 70–20 in the Senate, and the Senate Judiciary Committee reported that it was "essential to the continuance of our constitutional democracy" that the proposal "be so emphatically rejected that its parallel will never again be presented to the free representatives of the free people of America." The expansion of a 5–4 conservative majority to a 6–3 supermajority during the first presidency of Donald Trump led to analysts calling
25748-567: Was dismissed on technical grounds. As of late July 2022, the case is being appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals on behalf of the couple and several other plaintiffs. On August 24, 2023, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the trial-court panel's decision, agreeing that the Rutan-Rams and all the other plaintiffs have the right to bring the lawsuit. The Tennessee Department of Children's Services then filed an application seeking review of
25912-532: Was founded by members of the Christian right movement to prevent what its founders saw as threats to religious liberty in American society. ADF was incorporated in 1993 by six conservative Christian men, most of whom belonged to evangelical movements. The co-founders were Bill Bright , who also founded Campus Crusade for Christ ; Larry Burkett , an evangelical financial advisor; James Dobson , founder of Focus on
26076-500: Was last changed in 1869, when it was set at nine. Under the White and Taft Courts (1910–1930), the court held that the Fourteenth Amendment had incorporated some guarantees of the Bill of Rights against the states ( Gitlow v. New York ), grappled with the new antitrust statutes ( Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States ), upheld the constitutionality of military conscription ( Selective Draft Law Cases ), and brought
26240-459: Was not acted on by the Senate; Eisenhower re-nominated Harlan in January 1955, and Harlan was confirmed two months later. Most recently, the Senate failed to act on the March 2016 nomination of Merrick Garland, as the nomination expired in January 2017, and the vacancy was filled by Neil Gorsuch, an appointee of President Trump. Once the Senate confirms a nomination, the president must prepare and sign
26404-428: Was not the proper vehicle to answer those questions. The agreement allowed Scardina, should she want, to pursue her own civil action against Masterpiece. In June 2019, Scardina, represented by attorneys Paula Greisen and John McHugh, brought civil suit against Phillips in federal district court on the perceived discrimination. In April 2020, beyond the appeal deadline, Scardina brought a second lawsuit against Phillips in
26568-564: Was religious hostility in evaluating cases arose in Justice Sotomayor's dissent in Trump v. Hawaii , 585 U.S. ___ (2018), which dealt with President Trump's travel ban against several nations which had a high Muslim population. While the majority ruled that the ban was within the President's powers and sent the case back to lower courts to rule on other matters, Sotomayor believed that
26732-619: Was reversed within two years by the adoption of the Eleventh Amendment . The court's power and prestige grew substantially during the Marshall Court (1801–1835). Under Marshall, the court established the power of judicial review over acts of Congress, including specifying itself as the supreme expositor of the Constitution ( Marbury v. Madison ) and making several important constitutional rulings that gave shape and substance to
26896-627: Was the second. Unlike the Fortas filibuster, only Democratic senators voted against cloture on the Gorsuch nomination, citing his perceived conservative judicial philosophy, and the Republican majority's prior refusal to take up President Barack Obama 's nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy. This led the Republican majority to change the rules and eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations. Not every Supreme Court nominee has received
#624375