On June 19, 2019, the Supreme Court granted Melissa and Aaron Klein’s petition for writ of certiorari in Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries, vacated the judgment of the Oregon Court of Appeals, and remanded the Kleins’ case to the Oregon courts “for further consideration in light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n, 584 U.S. ____ (2018).”
In Masterpiece Cakeshop, the Supreme Court held that a baker who, like the Kleins, declined on religious grounds to make a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding ceremony, was “entitled to the neutral and respectful consideration of his claims in all the circumstances of his case.” The Colorado commission that decided his case violated the Establishment Clause by showing hostility to the baker’s religious beliefs.
On remand, the Oregon Court of Appeals must reconsider the Kleins’ constitutional arguments and decide whether Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries acted with impermissible anti-religious animus in its treatment of the Kleins, its statements about their religious beliefs, and its award of $135,000 in damages.
BG&A represented Aaron and Melissa Klein as counsel of record before the U.S. Supreme Court, with First Liberty Institute and Herbert G. Grey as co-counsel.
20190617 Klein GVR