1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,279 Speaker 1: Well, now it was time for our daily Bloomberg Law Brief, 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: exploring legal issues in the news. And today Bloomberg Law 3 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: host Jun Grosso and Greg Sture discussed the latest case 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: heading to the Supreme Court involving Jack Phillips, a Colorado 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a 6 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: gay couple. They speak with Eric Segel, a professor at 7 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: Georgia's State University School of Law. Let's start with the 8 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: world from Jack Phillips's perspective, what's his strongest argument that 9 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: his constitutional rights are being violated? Well, I think he 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: has to. One is that he shouldn't be forced to 11 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: perform an act that violates his religious conscience, and that 12 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: would be supporting a same sex marriage. And second, or 13 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: tied for first, would be the state of Colorado is 14 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: not allowed, is not allowed under the First Amendment to 15 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: compel him to express something he does want to express. 16 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: So he does not want to say I'm in favor 17 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: of same sex marriage, and Colorado is in effect making 18 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: him say that by requiring him to sell this cake. 19 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: And as far as the argument of Colorado explained that 20 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: Colorado does not want businesses who are open to the 21 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: public and who make a profit to discriminate on the 22 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: basis of race, or religion, or national origin, or gender 23 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: or sexual orientation when they are selling their products. He 24 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: has opened a bake shot. He is selling his wedding 25 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: cakes to all, and certainly if an interracial couple came 26 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: and he said, I don't believe in interracial marriage, so 27 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: I'm not going to sell my cake to you. Um, 28 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: Colorado would be well within its rights to say you 29 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: have no choice. He says that the Colorado Civil Rights 30 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,279 Speaker 1: Commission let other bakeries refuse to put anti homosexual wording 31 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: on cakes, and he's refused to make cakes for a 32 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: long time with offensive or vulgar messages, and he won't 33 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: make items celebrating Halloween or bachelor parties. Does that help 34 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: him No, I think he's mischaracterizing the record and distorting 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: what caused Lado has done. Colorado's official position in this 36 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: litigation and how they implement their law, is that any 37 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: vendor of anything is allowed to refuse to put a 38 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,959 Speaker 1: message on what they're selling. The issue in our case 39 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: is that the facts never went that far. The same 40 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: sex couple walked into the store and Jack Phillips very 41 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: politely said I'm sorry, I can't make a cake for you. 42 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: My view of the First Amendment is that if the 43 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: couple said I want you to put a rainbow on 44 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: the cake, he would have been within his rights to 45 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: say no, and the First Amendment gives him that shield. 46 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: But if they asked for a plain vanilla cake, then 47 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: I think he can't say no. As Eric Segel, a 48 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: professor at Georgia State University School of Loss, became at 49 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: the Bloomberg Law host Jon Grosso and Greg Sture, you 50 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: can listen to Bloomberg Law weekdays at one pm Wall 51 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: Street Time here on Bloomberg Radio Now. Among the top 52 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: legal stories from Bloomberg Law. In San Francisco, jann In 53 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: Tech is accused of firing a researcher who spotted mistakes 54 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: in drug testing protocols. A woman who did contract work 55 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: for the biotech company has filed a whistleblower lawsuit. She 56 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: claims to an Ententech refused to investigate inaccurate test results 57 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: and endangered human test subjects in the process. No response 58 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: yet from the company. As this morning's Bloomberg Law Brief, 59 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,679 Speaker 1: you can find more illegal news at Bloomberg Law dot com. 60 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: And Bloomberg b Enna dot com. Attorneys will find exceptional 61 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: legal research and business development tools there as well. Visit 62 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Law dot com and Bloomberg Bna dot com for 63 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:31,639 Speaker 1: more information.