TUALATIN - Halfway through a hearing to determine damages in a hotly contested civil rights case over a wedding cake, a handful of new anecdotes and assertions have emerged.

Disclosures about death threats, foster children and Storm Large, the Portland singer, actor and author, all figure into the evolving story.

First, some background:

What is widely known as the Sweet Cakes by Melissa case is a legal dispute over a Christian couple's insistence that their religious beliefs against same-sex marriage trump a state law requiring them to serve customers equally.

A state administrative law judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries recently ruled against the couple, saying that Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the former Gresham bakery bearing her name, had discriminated against a lesbian couple from Portland by refusing to create a cake for their wedding.

The case has been argued in the court of public opinion for more than two years, but now it's gained another round of attention as lawyers argue how much the Kleins should pay the women for emotional and mental damages. State prosecutors are seeking $75,000 for each of them -- $150,000 total.

This week's developments:

Judge Alan McCullough, the same judge who ruled against the Kleins in January 2015, began hearing testimony Tuesday on the question of compensatory damages.

BOLI's hearings process is similar to a civil lawsuit, with sworn testimony, cross-examination of witnesses, and dozens of exhibits entered into the record.

Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, the couple who complained to BOLI, both testified to the emotional stress they attributed to their experience with Sweet Cakes as well as the glare of media attention that soon followed. Rachel's mother and brother also testified to the hurt and anger they witnessed in the couple.

The state rested its case just before noon Friday.

The Kleins will testify in their own defense when the hearing resumes at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, in a state office building in Tualatin.

What's new:

-- Reports of death threats. In testimony Tuesday, Rachel Bowman-Cryer said she and her wife received death threats as media attention and criticism from strangers escalated in the months after the story went national in January 2013.

She said the threats were part of a stream of "hateful, hurtful things" that came after the couple's contact information (home address, phone and email) was posted on Aaron Klein's personal Facebook page. She said she feared for her life and her wife's life.

McCullough, during a break Friday, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he also has received death threats tied to his involvement in the case. He said the threats contributed to a decision by BOLI officials to have Oregon State Police provide security at this week's hearing.

-- Concerns for foster children. Also on Tuesday, Rachel Bowman-Cryer disclosed that she and Laurel felt an even greater level of stress because they were foster parents for two young girls and feared they might lose the children.

She said they spoke to state adoption officials who told them it was the couple's responsibility to protect the children and keep privileged information confidential, even as their own privacy was threatened by news coverage of the case.

"You have very little control over what the media says or does," Bowman-Cryer said. She said she and Laurel's biggest concern was "that nobody would know we had these children."

The couple has since legally adopted the girls, who are now 8 and 6 years old.

During cross-examination, lawyers for the Kleins suggested that the Bowman-Cryers themselves ignited the media coverage by filing complaints with the state. Their point in doing so was to argue that any pain and suffering sustained by the women was due to their own or others' actions rather than their clients'.

"Isn't the real reason you felt stress after the media firestorm was that the state threatened to take away your kids," attorney Tyler Smith asked.

"That was part of the reason for our stress," Rachel Bowman-Cryer answered. "They told us it was our responsibility to protect them and keep them out of the public eye."

-- Storm Large's influence. Rachel Bowman-Cryer testified that growing up in Texas, she often experienced discrimination because of her sexual orientation.

As a young adult, she took care of her ailing father and the two of them would watch "Rock Star: Supernova," a reality television show. Storm Large, a singer and songwriter from Oregon, emerged as a top competitor and "our favorite contestant," Bowman-Cryer said.

Large would often talk about Oregon in glowing terms. After her father died, Bowman-Cryer said, she researched Oregon and decided to move here in 2009, hoping it would provide a more welcoming environment for herself and her younger brother, who is also gay.

What's next:

The Kleins' testimony is expected to take all day Tuesday and possibly carry over to Wednesday. The couple closed their Gresham bakery in the fall of 2013 and now operate the business from their home in Sandy, where they live with their five children.

Defense lawyer Anna Harmon said the Kleins will argue that the U.S. Constitution protects their religious rights and freedom of expression, and supersedes Oregon state laws requiring businesses to provide equal access to places of public accommodation such as restaurants, hotels and bakeries. The couple maintain that creating a wedding cake is tantamount to a work of art that cannot be regulated by government.

After the hearing concludes, McCullough will take weeks, if not months, to decide how much in damages the Kleins should pay and make a recommendation to state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. Avakian, in turn, can accept or adjust the amount in issuing a final order.

-- George Rede

grede@oregonian.com

503-294-4004

@georgerede