In the Courts - Christian Legal Society

Current Cases

Groff v. Dejoy

Gerald Groff began working for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in 2012. In 2013, USPS contracted with Amazon to deliver packages, including on Sundays. Groff’s religious beliefs prohibit working on Sunday, and…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections, Workplace
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Success
Center's Role: Amicus

Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries

The Kleins owned a bakery called “Sweet Cakes by Melissa,” which specialized in custom-designed cakes, including weddings cakes. The Kleins created wedding cakes, in part, to celebrate marriages, which their faith taught…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections, Free Speech
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Cert. granted, judgment vacated, and case remanded
Center's Role: Amicus

Smith v. Ward

For decades, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) has protected the religious freedom of inmates. It has enabled Jewish inmates to obey kosher diets, Catholics to access to important…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Cert. Denied
Center's Role: Amicus

303 Creative v. Elenis

Colorado passed a public accommodations law that would require certain service providers to communicate messages inconsistent with their beliefs. This law would require Ms. Smith to design websites for same-sex marriages, despite that…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections, Free Speech
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Success
Center's Role: Amicus

The Little Sisters of the Poor and Their Third Journey to the Supreme Court

The Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic religious order, has returned to the United States Supreme Court for the third time in eight years in order to protect their basic right…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections
Court: United States Supreme Court
Case Status: Success
Center's Role: Amicus

Judge Neely v. Wyoming Judicial Conduct & Ethics Commission

Judge Neely held two judicial positions, as a municipal judge not authorized to solemnize weddings and as a part-time circuit court magistrate authorized to perform wedding ceremonies for couples who independently contacted…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Cert. Denied
Center's Role: Amicus

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Human Rights Commission

Jack Phillips is a Christian cake artist who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop outside Denver, Colorado. In 2012, a same-sex couple asked Jack to bake a cake for their wedding celebration. Phillips regularly serves…

Legal Issue(s): Conscience Protections
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Success
Center's Role: Amicus