Emilee Carpenter Photography v. James
Description: New York state law forces photographer and blogger Emilee Carpenter to create photographs and blogs celebrating same-sex weddings if she does so for weddings between one man and one woman. Penalties for violating the law include fines of up to $100,000, a revoked business license, and up to a year in jail.
2nd Circuit rules for photographer challenging NY laws compelling speech
NEW YORK – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled Friday that the case of a New York photographer and blogger may proceed and that a lower court should evaluate whether to issue an injunction to prevent New York from forcing her to create messages inconsistent with her faith in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark free speech decision in the Alliance Defending Freedom case 303 Creative v. Elenis.
ADF attorneys filed a supplemental brief with the 2nd Circuit last July explaining how 303 Creative protected photographer and blogger Emilee Carpenter. The brief argued that the appeals court should affirm Carpenter’s First Amendment rights, reverse a lower court’s ruling dismissing her case, and prevent officials from forcing Carpenter to create photographs and blogs inconsistent with her beliefs.
“Free speech is for everyone. As the Supreme Court reaffirmed in 303 Creative, the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” said ADF Legal Counsel Bryan Neihart. “The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own views as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs. We urge the district court to uphold this freedom and follow Supreme Court precedent so that Emilee can speak and create consistent with her convictions. That freedom protects Emilee and all Americans regardless of their views.”
New York’s laws threaten Carpenter with fines of up to $100,000, a revoked business license, and up to a year in jail.
“[T]he specific facts alleged in Carpenter’s complaint are substantially similar to the relevant facts stipulated to by the parties in 303 Creative,” the 2nd Circuit wrote in its decision in Emilee Carpenter Photography v. James. “Carpenter has alleged that she exercises artistic license to create customized and original images that express her religious views about marriage…her photography services plausibly qualify as expressive activity under the Court’s holding.”
Carpenter’s case is similar to 303 Creative, which involved Colorado graphic artist and website designer Lorie Smith. Smith challenged a state law that forced her to express messages that violated her beliefs. The Supreme Court concluded that the state of Colorado could not compel Smith to create content that contradicted her views on marriage. The Supreme Court reaffirmed the bedrock First Amendment principle that the government may not “seek[] to force an individual to speak in ways that alight with [the government’s] views but defy her conscience about a matter of public significance.”
- Pronunciation guide: Neihart (NYE'-hart)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Bryan Neihart
Bryan Neihart serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a member of the Center for Conscience Initiatives. Before joining ADF, Neihart clerked for judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and the Colorado Court of Appeals. He also practiced law with a litigation firm in Denver, Colorado where he primarily represented businesses, insurance companies, and hospitals in both federal and state courts. Neihart worked as a law clerk to Judge David Furman of the Colorado Court of Appeals after graduating from law school. Neihart earned his J.D. from the Sturm College of Law of the University of Denver in 2014, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as a board member on the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy. While attending the University of Denver, he also received a M.A. in international human rights from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Neihart obtained his B.A., summa cum laude, in French and international relations from Wheaton College (IL) in 2011. Neihart is a member of the state bars of Arizona and Colorado.
ABOUT Jonathan Scruggs
Jonathan Scruggs serves as senior counsel and vice president of litigation strategy and the Center for Conscience Initiatives with Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, he identifies new litigation opportunities and develops new strategies for protecting free speech and religious liberty in collaboration with the chief legal counsel and litigation team directors. As the leader for the Center for Conscience Initiatives, Scruggs oversees the litigation team defending the rights of professionals and business owners to live out their faith as well as the litigation efforts to protect equal opportunities for women in athletics. Since joining ADF in 2006, Scruggs has worked on and prevailed in a variety of cases that protect the right of people to freely express their faith in their business, at school, and in the public square. He earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School and is admitted to practice in the states of Arizona and Tennessee. Scruggs is also admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal district and appellate courts.