Mr. Nathan A Adams IV is a partner in Holland &
Knight's
Chicago office
Mr. Peter M Friedman is a practice group leader in
Holland & Knight's
Chicago office
Timely Topics
Since 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court has expressly construed a
neutral law of general applicability as consistent with the free
exercise clause. Deeming Colorado's public accommodations law
just such a law, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the law's
application in 2015 to a bakery and its owner who would not create
a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding because, as a Christian, the
owner believed he would displease God. The Colorado court affirmed
a cease and desist order requiring the bakery to take remedial
measures, but the bakery appealed. Before 1990, the U.S. Supreme
Court applied the so-called compelling interest test to
infringements upon the sincere religious exercise of individuals.
In those cases, it did not matter how neutral or generally
applicable was the infringing law; the
