SCOTUS Grants Cert in 303 Creative On Free Speech Question

The Court did not accept the question presented on the Free Exercise Clause.

The Supreme Court has granted cert in 303 Creative v. Elenis. That petition presented two questions:

1. Whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent, contrary to the artist's sincerely held religious beliefs, violates the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.

2. Whether a public-accommodation law that authorizes secular but not religious exemptions is generally applicable under Smith, and if so, whether this Court should overrule Smith.

Once again, the Court narrowed the QP:

The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted limited to the following question: Whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

The Court will punt the Smith question for another day.

303 Creative was first distributed on January 7, so this case did not linger for long.