303 Creative v. Elenis

Lorie Smith is an artist who runs her own design studio, 303 Creative. She specializes in graphic and website design and loves to visually convey messages in every site she creates. Lorie started her own small business in 2012 so she could promote causes consistent with her beliefs and close to her heart, such as supporting children with disabilities, the beauty of marriage, overseas missions, animal shelters, and veterans. She was excited to expand her portfolio to create custom websites that celebrate marriage between a man and a woman, but Colorado made clear she wasn’t welcome in that space. A Colorado law censored what Lorie wanted to say and required her to create designs that violate her beliefs about marriage. Lorie works with people from all walks of life, including those who identify as LGBT. Lorie’s decisions about which projects to design are always based on what message she’s being asked to express, never who requests it. After realizing that Colorado was censoring her—and seeing Colorado use this same law to punish Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips—Lorie challenged the law to protect free speech.

Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of free speech for all Americans, holding that Colorado cannot punish Lorie for creating art consistent with her beliefs. This is a win for all Americans because every American should be free to say what they believe without fear of government punishment.

Case timeline

• September 2016: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on Lorie’s behalf challenging Colorado’s law in federal court. Nearly three years later, a judge ruled that Colorado officials can force Lorie to design and publish custom websites promoting messages that conflict with her beliefs.
• October 2019: Lorie appealed to the 10th Circuit, asking it to reverse the lower court’s decision. And in November 2020, the 10th Circuit heard her case.
• July 2021: The 10th Circuit issued an unprecedented ruling in Lorie’s case, upholding the Colorado law that Colorado officials are using to violate Lorie’s free speech and require her to say things she doesn’t believe.
• September 2021: Lorie asked the Supreme Court to take up her case and reverse the 10th Circuit’s ruling to protect her First Amendment rights.
• February 2022: The Supreme Court announced that it would hear Lorie’s case.
• May 2022: ADF attorneys filed their opening brief with the Supreme Court.
• June 2022: A diverse group including artists, publishers, LGBT-advocacy organizations, legal scholars, and 20 states submitted friend-of-the-court briefs to the Supreme Court asking it to uphold free speech for Lorie and all Americans.
• December 2022: ADF CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner represented Lorie during oral argument at the Supreme Court.
• June 2023: The Supreme Court ruled in Lorie’s favor, reaffirming that the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe. The Court reiterated that it’s unconstitutional for the state to eliminate from the public square ideas it dislikes, including the belief that marriage is the union of husband and wife.