Judge rules that wedding cakes are works of art, protected by First Amendment

A California judge has refused to order a baker to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, ruling that to do otherwise would be to trample on the baker’s free speech rights.

Superior Court Judge David R. Lampe said in his Monday ruling that wedding cakes are works of art that are at the core of the First Amendment.

“It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage. There could not be a greater form of expressive conduct,” the judge wrote.

His decision contrasts with a ruling out of Colorado, where a court ruled that a baker could not refuse to bake for a same-sex couple, arguing the state’s public accommodation law trumped that baker’s First Amendment claims. That case is now before the Supreme Court.

California has a public accommodation law similar to Colorado.

When Cathy Miller, a devout Christian and owner of “Tastries” bakeshop in Bakersfield, refused to make a cake for Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-De Rio, the state pursued legal action.

The judge said that if the couple had bought a premade cake, they could not be refused service. But by asking the baker to make a cake specifically for them, the couple was implicating Ms. Miller’s expression — even if they didn’t ask for a message to be added to the cake.

“No baker may place their wares in a public display case, open their shop, and then refuse to sell because of race, religion, gender, or gender identification,” Judge Lampe wrote in his order.

“The difference here is that the cake in question is not yet baked,” he added.

Last year, the couple met with an employee at Tastries and described how they wanted their wedding cake to look, selecting one of Ms. Miller’s display cakes. They did not want anything written on the cake.

But when they were scheduled to return to the bakeshop for their tasting, Ms. Miller canceled and directed them to “Gimme Some Sugar,” another bakery, explaining she does not support same-sex marriage.

Judge Lampe said California’s interest in preserving an open, public marketplace cannot compel an individual to endorse or communicate a message by which he or she disagrees, saying a wedding cake is not just a cake when it comes to free speech.