← All Cases Coverage by Bryan K. Randolph · BrynoDC

303 Creative LLC v. Elenis

No. 21-476 SCOTUS · Decided Decided SCOTUS
Cert Granted: Feb 22, 2022 Argued: Dec 5, 2022 Decided: Jun 30, 2023
📄 Read the Opinion

Case Overview

Lorie Smith designs websites in Colorado. State anti-discrimination law would require her business to serve same-sex couples even though she objects to same-sex marriage on religious grounds. She sued before taking any such request, challenging the law as compelled speech under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the government cannot force someone to create expressive content they object to, and that web design qualifies as expression. The ruling is the current Court's most expansive statement on compelled speech.


The Conclusion

**The Supreme Court held 6-3 that Colorado's anti-discrimination law cannot compel a website designer to create content for same-sex marriages when doing so conflicts with her religious beliefs.** The decision established that web design qualifies as expressive activity protected by the First Amendment, marking the current Court's broadest extension of compelled speech doctrine.

CourtSupreme Court of the United States
FiledSep 28, 2021
Judge -
CL Statusactive
View on CourtListener →

No circuit court data for this case.

Cert GrantedFeb 22, 2022
Statusactive
Filed (CL)Sep 28, 2021
View on CourtListener →
SCOTUS TMR-1e2925f4 Jul 13, 2026
Subscribe on Substack ↗

This tracker is maintained by BrynoDC and is free because readers fund it. Support