A Bakery Opens and a Dream Comes True

In 2007, Aaron and Melissa Klein opened a family bakery, in Gresham, Oregon, called “Sweet Cakes by Melissa,” specializing in custom-designed, artistically crafted cakes. Opening the bakery was a “dream come true” for Melissa, who had always loved to express herself creatively.

Aaron and Melissa operated Sweet Cakes as an expression of their Christian faith.

The Kleins chose to create wedding cakes, in part, to celebrate marriages, which their faith taught them to view as the sacred union of one man and one woman. They were happy to serve everyone who entered the shop but would not create any cakes with messages that conflicted with their faith, such as cakes with profanity, cakes celebrating divorce, or cakes advocating harm to others.

In 2013, Aaron and Melissa were asked to make a custom-designed wedding cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding. As devout Christians, Aaron and Melissa believed that crafting a cake to celebrate the wedding would send a message of support for the wedding in violation of their faith. For this reason, they declined to create the custom wedding cake.

The Government Devastates the Kleins’ Business

In response, the State of Oregon brought the full force of law down on the Kleins. It imposed a financially devastating penalty of $135,000 against the Kleins and issued a gag order against them, restricting the Kleins’ freedom to talk about their beliefs in public.

To make matters worse, the Kleins’ case – and punishment – was overseen by a biased commissioner who made statements online and in media interviews clearly indicating he had prejudged the Kleins as guilty before their case came before him.

He accused the Kleins of using religion as “an excuse” for their actions and said they needed to “learn from [the] experience” and be “rehabilitate[d].”

The commissioner’s penalty—along with an internet-orchestrated boycott campaign against the bakery—forced Aaron and Melissa to close Sweet Cakes. “Having to shut down the bakery was devastating,” Melissa said. “Our family had worked so hard to build it. To watch it just disappear—it crushed me. I felt like I’d lost a part of myself.”

The closure was especially painful because the Kleins had planned to pass the bakery down to their children. The closure of the bakery resulted not only in the loss of their “second home,” but their legacy. Almost ten years later, Melissa says she still misses the bakery “every day.”

The trauma the Kleins experienced from losing the bakery was worsened as hostile media outlets hounded the Kleins for interviews and anonymous attackers vandalized their property, broke into their home, and made expletive-laced death threats against the Kleins and their five children.

The Supreme Court Weighs In

Aaron and Melissa appealed the commissioner’s ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals in April 2016. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the decision, though it reversed the gag order. First Liberty Institute and the Honorable Boyden Gray of Boyden Gray & Associates asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

In June 2019, the Court vacated the Oregon Court of Appeals’ decision and sent the case back to the state to be reviewed in light of the recently decided Masterpiece Cakeshop. In Masterpiece Cakeshop, the Supreme Court reminded the state that government officials must provide “neutral and respectful consideration” of all religious claims. Governments may not engage in religious discrimination against citizens, even if they disagree with the citizens’ beliefs.

By vacating the Oregon ruling, the Court showed it is serious about combating the anti-religious hostility frequently committed by state actors, such as the Oregon commissioner. The Court also reaffirmed an essential principle of due process: everyone is entitled to a fair trial before an unbiased judge.

Oregon Tries to Have its Cake and Eat It, Too

In January 2022, the Oregon Court of Appeals concluded that the Oregon commission violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by failing to act neutrally toward the Kleins’ religion. The court struck the $135,000 damages award because of the Free Exercise violation. Nevertheless, the court still contended that the Kleins had violated the law and sent the case back to the same biased Oregon commission for further proceedings.

“Oregon is trying to have its cake and eat it, too,” said Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel for First Liberty.  “The Court admits the state agency that acted as both prosecutor and judge in this case was biased against the Kleins’ faith. Yet, despite this anti-Christian bias that infected the whole case, the court is sending the case back to the very same agency for a do-over. It’s time for the State of Oregon’s hostility toward Aaron and Melissa to end.”

In July 2022, without ordering a new hearing, BOLI reduced the damage award from $135,000 to $30,000. The Kleins continue to seek full and final vindication of their First Amendment rights.

The Kleins Go Back to the Supreme Court

In September 2022, First Liberty attorneys announced asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Klein’s case.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court rulings against the Klein, and return the case once again to the state.

“It’s a win when the Supreme Court vacates a bad lower court decision like it did for Aaron and Melissa today, but the case is not over,” said Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel to First Liberty.  “The Kleins have been fighting for the First Amendment for over a decade and we will stand with them no matter how long it takes to get the victory they deserve.”

In January 2024, the Oregon Court of Appeals again heard oral argument.

“Freedom of speech has always included the freedom not to speak the government’s message,” said Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel to First Liberty Institute “The First Amendment protects all Americans, of different perspectives and beliefs, to not be forced to use their art to send a message with which they disagree.”

Melissa said, “We welcomed and served everyone in our bakery, but we could not endorse all messages. We lost everything we loved and worked so hard to build. We just want to be able to run our business without being forced to celebrate events that conflict with our religious beliefs.”

News Release
For Immediate Release: 1.30.24
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453

Oregon Bakers Forced Out of Business Make Their Case Before Oregon Court of Appeals for Third Time
Attorneys explain how Aaron and Melissa Klein would serve everyone who visited their bakery but should not be forced to endorse messages that conflict with their beliefs.

Salem, OR—Today, the Oregon Court of Appeals again heard oral arguments in the case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, former owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa.  Last June, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated an earlier decision by the state court that effectively forced Aaron and Melissa out of business for refusing to create a message that conflicted with their sincerely held religious beliefs.  It was the second time the Supreme Court struck the Oregon courts’ opinions in this case.  The Kleins are represented by First Liberty Institute and Boyden Gray PLLC.

“Freedom of speech has always included the freedom not to speak the government’s message,” said Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel to First Liberty Institute “The First Amendment protects all Americans, of different perspectives and beliefs, to not be forced to use their art to send a message with which they disagree.”

Melissa said, “We welcomed and served everyone in our bakery, but we could not endorse all messages. We lost everything we loved and worked so hard to build. We just want to be able to run our business without being forced to celebrate events that conflict with our religious beliefs.”

BOLI originally imposed a devastating $135,000 damage award against the Kleins for violating Oregon’s public accommodations statute after they declined to design and create a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. Following a series of appeals, the Supreme Court in 2019 returned the case to Oregon for further consideration in light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which held that government officials cannot be hostile to the free exercise of the religious beliefs of its citizens.

The Oregon Court of Appeals determined that BOLI had demonstrated anti-religious hostility toward the Kleins and struck down the assessment of damages. However, the court then sent the case back to the same biased commission, BOLI, for further proceedings.  In July 2022, BOLI unilaterally reimposed a damage award of $30,000.  The Kleins appealed.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court returned the case to Oregon again to reconsider in light of its decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.

###

About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans. 

To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.


Press Releases

First Liberty Press Release – 6/30/23

First Liberty Press Release – 9/6/22

First Liberty Press Release – 1/9/20

First Liberty Press Release – 8/8/19

First Liberty Press Release – 6/17/19

First Liberty Press Release – 10/22/18

First Liberty Press Release – 06/24/18

First Liberty Press Release – 02/23/16

First Liberty Press Release – 04/25/16

Fact Sheet for Klein Opening Brief for Oregon Court of Appeals – 04/25/16

First Liberty Press Release – 09/8/16

First Liberty Media Alert – 02/28/17

First Liberty Press Release – 03/2/17

First Liberty Press Release – 09/8/17

Legal Files for United States Supreme Court (2022)

12/16/22 – Reply Brief

9/7/22 – Cert Petition

Legal Files for Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry (2022)

7/12/22 – BOLI Order

Legal Files for Oregon Supreme Court (2022)

5/5/22 – Order Denying Review

3/2/22 – Petition for Review

Legal Files for Oregon Court of Appeals on Remand (2019-22)

1/26/22 – Opinion of Court of Appeals

2/4/20 – Memorandum of Additional Authorities

9/26/19 – Klein Reply Brief

9/12/19 – Bureau of Labor and Industries Response Brief

8/8/19 – Brief by Petitioners Aaron and Melissa Klein

Legal Files for U.S. Supreme Court (2018)

1/25/19 – Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries Response Petition

10/19/18 – Klein Cert Petition

9/8/17 – Klein Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of Masterpiece Cakeshop

Amicus Briefs in Support of Klein Cert Petition at U.S. Supreme Court (2018)

11/15/18 – Institute for Faith and Family

11/21/18 – Southeastern Legal Foundation

11/21/18 – Pacific Legal Foundation

11/26/18 – Cato Institute and Committee for Justice

11/26/18 – Foundation for Moral Law

11/26/18 – Thomas More Society

11/26/18 – Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence

11/26/18 – Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

11/26/18 – Public Advocate of the United States

11/26/18 – Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund

11/26/18 – One Nation Under God Foundation

11/26/18 – Restoring Liberty Action Committee

11/26/18 –  State Attorneys General

 

Legal Files for Oregon Supreme Court (2018)

3/2/18 – Amended Petition for Review by the Oregon Supreme Court

3/1/18 – Petition for Review by the Oregon Supreme Court

 

Legal Files for Oregon Court of Appeals (2016-17)

12/28/17 – Court of Appeals Ruling

2/27/17 – Summary of Arguments made in Petitioners Brief 

9/8/16 – Reply Brief of Petitioners – Aaron and Melissa Klein

8/16/16 – Answering Brief of Respondent – Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries 

4/25/16 – Opening Brief of Petitioners – Aaron and Melissa Klein

 

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