Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission is the latest Supreme Court intervention in the American culture war. Conservatives and progressives alike have grown accustomed to our nine delphic oracles issuing from the Supreme Court Building a cascade of opinions deeming one practice illegal, another local or state law unconstitutional, this reasoning preferable to that. In the process, the Court authoritatively redefines the terrain of conflict for us all.
The Court did precisely this yesterday. In a lopsided 7-2 ruling, the majority found in favor of the Colorado baker Jack Phillips, owner and operator of Masterpiece Cakeshop, in his claimed right to the free exercise of religion. But this opinion is not a victory for religious liberty. The Court majority ruled in favor of Phillips strictly on procedural grounds. The substance of his claim to refuse to bake custom cakes for same-sex weddings went untested. In fact, the balance of the five separate opinions filed by the nine justices strongly suggests that the next Masterpiece Cakeshop will not fare nearly so well.
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