State v. Arlene's Flowers, Inc.
| Citation | 187 Wash.2d 804,389 P.3d 543 |
| Decision Date | 16 February 2017 |
| Docket Number | NO. 91615-2,91615-2 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Washington |
| Parties | STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. ARLENE'S FLOWERS, INC., d/b/a Arlene's Flowers and Gifts, and Barronelle Stutzman, Appellants. Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, Respondents, v. Arlene's Flowers, Inc., d/b/a Arlene's Flowers and Gifts, and Barronelle Stutzman, Appellants. |
Kristen Kellie Waggoner, Jeremy D. Tedesco, Alliance Defending Freedom, 15100 N 90th St., Scottsdale, AZ, 85260, George M. Ahrend, Ahrend Law Firm PLLC, 100 E Broadway Ave., Moses Lake, WA, 98837-1740, Counsel for Appellants.
Michael Ramsey Scott, Amit D. Ranade, Michael Jacob Ewart, Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson PS, 999 3rd Ave. Ste. 4600, Seattle, WA, 98104-4084, Margaret Chen, ACLU of Washington, 901 5th Ave. Ste. 630, Seattle, WA, 98164-2086, Elizabeth Olmsted Gill, ACLU Foundation, 39 Drumm Street, San Francisco, CA, 94111, Todd Richard Bowers, Attorney General-CJD, 800 5th Ave. Ste. 2000, Seattle, WA, 98104-3188, Kimberlee L. Gunning, Columbia Legal Services, 101 Yesler Way Ste. 300, Seattle, WA, 98104-2528, Noah Guzzo Purcell, Alan D. Copsey, Rebecca R. Glasgow, Attorney General's Office, PO Box 40100, Olympia, WA, 98504-0100, Counsel for Respondents.
Floyd Edwin Ivey, Ivey Law Offices, 7233 W Deschutes Ave. Ste. C, Kennewick, WA, 99336-6707, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Protecting Constitutional Freedoms, Inc.
Jeffrey Paul Helsdon, Oldfield & Helsdon PLLC, PO Box 64189, Tacoma, WA, 98464-0189, Ilya Shapiro, Jayme Weber, Cato Institute, 1000 Mass. Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20001, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Cato Institute.
Michael Alexander Patterson, Patterson Buchanan Fobes Leitch PS, 2112 3rd Ave. Ste. 500, Seattle, WA, 98121-2391, Mark Rienzi, Adele Keim, Diana Verm, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, 1200 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC, 20036, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
David Morgan Steven Dewhirst, Attorney at Law, PO Box 552, Olympia, WA, 98507-0552, Stephanie Diane Olson, Attorney at Law, 19112 NE 168th St., Woodinville, WA, 98072-9104, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of International Christian Photographers.
Karolyn Ann Hicks, Stokes Lawrence PS, 1420 5th Ave. Ste. 3000, Seattle, WA, 98101-2393, Shannon Minter, Christopher Stoll, National Center for Lesbian Rights, 870 Market Street, Suite 370, San Francisco, CA, 94102, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of National Center for Lesbian Rights, Legal Voice, National Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Bar Association.
Daniel Jeffrey Shih, Lindsey Godfrey Eccles, Susman Godfrey L.L.P., 1201 3rd Ave. Ste. 3800, Seattle, WA, 98101-3087, Jennifer C. Pizer, Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, 4221 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 280, Los Angeles, CA, 90010-3512, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Lambda Lega Defense, Education Fund, Inc.
Jessica L. Ellsworth, Laura A. Szarmach, Kaitlyn Golden, Hogan Lovells US LLP, 555 13th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20004, Nicole E. Schiavo, Hogan Lovells US LLP, 875 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10022, Steven M. Freeman, Seth M. Marnin, Michelle N. Deutchman, Anti-Defamation League, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10158, Christian Emile Mammen, Hogan Lovells US LLP, 3 Embarcadero Ctr. Fl. 15, San Francisco, CA, 94111-4038, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Anti-defamation League and Twenty-six Other Organizations.
Sherrilyn Ifill, Janai Nelson, Christina Swarns, Coty Montag, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, 40 Rector Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10006, Charles Christian Sipos, David A. Perez, Perkins Coie LLP, 1201 3rd Ave. Ste. 4900, Seattle, WA, 98101-3099, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Naacp Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Hank L. Balson, Public Interest Law Group, PLLC, 705 2nd Ave. Ste. 1000, Seattle, WA, 98104-1758, Richard B. Katskee, Carmen N. Green, American United, 1901 L Street NW Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20036, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Thomas S. Olmstead, Attorney at Law, PO Box 68, Poulsbo, WA, 98370-0068, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of So. Baptist Convention.
Mark John Holady, Attorney at Law, 4800 SW Griffith Dr. Ste. 320, Beaverton, OR, 97005-8716, Thomas C. Berg, University of St. Thomas School of Law, Msl 400, 1000 Lasalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, Kimberlee Wood Colby, Christian Legal Society, 8001 Braddock Road Suite 302, Springfield, VA, 22151, Douglas Laycock, University of Virginia Law School, 580 Massie Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Christian Legal Society, Association of Christian Schools Internal, National Association of Evangelicals.
Bryan Patrick Harnetiaux, Attorney at Law, 517 E 17th Ave., Spokane, WA, 99203-2210, Valerie Davis Mcomie, Attorney at Law, 4549 Nw Aspen St., Camas, WA, 98607-8302, Kelby Dahmer Fletcher, Stokes Lawrence, 1420 5th Ave. Ste. 3000, Seattle, WA, 98101-2393, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington State Association for Justice Foundation.
Leonard J. Feldman, Peterson Wampold Rosato Feldman Luna, 1501 4th Ave. Ste. 2800, Seattle, WA, 98101-3677, Jamila Asha Johnson, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt PC, 1420 5th Ave. Ste. 3400, Seattle, WA, 98101- 4010, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Businesses.
Mark Goldfeder, Anton Sorkin, Restoring Religious Freedom Project, Gambrell Hall, Suite 310, 1301 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, James Abernathy, Attorney at Law, PO Box 552, Olympia, WA, 98507-0552, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Law and Religion Practitioners.
Jesse Andrew Wing, MacDonald Hoague & Bayless, 705 2nd Ave. Ste. 1500, Seattle, WA, 98104-1745, Jeffrey Lowell Needle, Maynard Building, 119 1st Ave. S Ste. 200, Seattle, WA, 98104-3450, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Employment Lawyers Association.
Seth Leslie Cooper, Newton Kight LLP, PO Box 79, Everett, WA, 98206-0079, John C. Eastman, Anthony T. Caso, Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, C/o Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, CA, 92886, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence.
Rebecca A. Zotti, Sedgwick, LLP, 600 University St. Ste. 2915, Seattle, WA, 98101, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Professor Tobias B. Wolff.
Bryce Patrick McPartland, McPartland Law Offices, PO Box 1055, Moses Lake, WA, 98837-0160, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Twelve States and the Governor of Kansas.
Daniel J. Appel, Foreman Appel Hotchkiss & Zimmerman PLLC, 124 N Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, WA, 98801-2239, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Legal Scholars.
Keith Allen Kemper, Ellis Li & McKinstry PLLC, 2025 1st Ave Ph A, Seattle, WA, 98121-3125, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Frederick Douglass Foundation, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, National Black Church Initiative, Coalition of African American Pastors USA, National Black Religious Broadcasters, Alveda King Ministries, Radiance Foundation, Mount Calvary Christian Center, Church of God in Christ, Hosanna Asamblea De Dios, New Hope International Church, Ryan T. Anderson.
Marshall Casey, M Casey Law, PLLC, 1106 N Washington St. Ste. B, Spokane, WA, 99201-2205, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Adam J. Macleod.
Blythe H. Chandler, Beth Ellen Terrell, Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, 936 N 34th St. Ste. 300, Seattle, WA, 98103-8869, Isaac Ruiz, Benjamin Blystad Gould, Keller Rohrback LLP, 1201 3rd Ave. Ste. 3200, Seattle, WA, 98101-3276, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Northwest Consumer Law Center.
¶ 1 The State of Washington bars discrimination in "public ... accommodation[s]" on the basis of "sexual orientation." RCW 49.60.215 (Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD)). Barronelle Stutzman owns and operates a place of public accommodation in our state: Arlene's Flowers Inc. Stutzman and her public business, Arlene's Flowers and Gifts, refused to sell wedding flowers to Robert Ingersoll because his betrothed, Curt Freed, is a man. The State and the couple sued, each alleging violations of the WLAD and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), ch. 19.86 RCW. Stutzman defended on the grounds that the WLAD and CPA do not apply to her conduct and that, if they do, those statutes violate her state and federal constitutional rights to free speech, free exercise, and free association.
¶ 2 The Benton County Superior Court granted summary judgment to the State and the couple, rejecting all of Stutzman's claims. We granted review and now affirm.
¶ 3 In 2004, Ingersoll and Freed began a committed, romantic relationship. In 2012, our state legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6239, which recognized equal civil marriage rights for same-sex couples. LAWS OF 2012, ch. 3, § 1. Freed proposed marriage to Ingersoll that same year. The two intended to marry on their ninth anniversary, in September 2013, and were "excited about organizing [their] wedding." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 350. Their plans included inviting "[a] hundred plus" guests to celebrate with them at Bella Fiori Gardens, complete with a dinner or reception, a photographer, a caterer, a wedding cake, and flowers. Id. at 1775-77.
¶ 4 By the time he and Freed became engaged, Ingersoll had been a customer at Arlene's Flowers for at least nine years, purchasing numerous floral arrangements from Stutzman and spending an estimated several thousand dollars at her shop. Stutzman is the owner and president of Arlene's Flowers. She employs approximately 10 people, depending on the season, including three floral designers, one of whom is herself. Stutzman knew that Ingersoll is gay and that he had been in a relationship with Freed for several years. The two men considered Arlene's Flowers to be "[their] florist." Id. at 350.
¶ 5 Stutzman is an active member of the Southern Baptist church. It is uncontested that her sincerely held religious beliefs include a belief that marriage can exist only between one man and one woman.
¶ 6 On February 28, 2013, Ingersoll went to Arlene's Flowers on his way home from work,...
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