Jack Phillips, the man behind the Masterpiece Cakeshop Supreme Court case, has decided to file a notice of appeal in his state Court of Appeals to challenge a ruling against him.

Jack Phillips is a baker who has received significant attention due to several lawsuits brought against him over the last eight years. In 2012, Phillips stated that he would not bake and decorate a custom cake that featured imagery celebrating gay marriage. When brought before the Supreme Court in 2017, Phillips won by a narrow victory; Phillips was later sued in 2019 by Autumn Scardina for refusing to bake them a custom birthday cake featuring imagery referring to Autumn's gender transition. Scardina brought the case before the Colorado District Court. In 2021, the District Court ruled that Phillips' decision to decline Scardina's order was illegal and violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. Phillips was later fined $500.

Now Phillips has decided to challenge the lawsuit by filing a notice of appeal in partnership with Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF has consistently represented Phillips in the majority of his cases, including before the Supreme Court.

ADF now believes that Phillips is specifically targeted due to his involvement in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. "Activists and government officials are targeting artists like Jack because they can't promote messages on marriage and gender that violate their core beliefs," claims ADF Legal Counsel Jake Warner. "In this case, an activist attorney demanded that Jack Phillips create custom cakes in order to test Jack and to 'correct the errors' of his thinking, and the attorney even threatened to sue Jack again if the case is dismissed for any reason. This case and others like it represent a disturbing trend: Activists are weaponizing the legal system to ruin those who simply disagree with them. Someone you disagree with might be the one targeted today. However, when political winds shift, it could just as easily be you or anyone else tomorrow."