A former Kentucky employee who refused to grant a marriage license to a couple because they were gay must pay her now-husband's attorney an additional $260,000 nearly a decade after denying them the right to marry. Must be.
A federal judge has ruled that Kim Davis must pay the attorneys' fees and costs of David Armold and David Moore. This is on top of the $100,000 a federal jury awarded the pair in September for their infamous 2015 refusal.
Davis, a Republican, was found guilty last year of violating the couple's constitutional rights after spending five days in jail over her denials, which were deemed to be in contempt of court.
She was serving as Rowan County Clerk when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Despite the court's landmark decision, she refused to issue marriage licenses to two same-sex couples based on her religious beliefs. Both her husband and wife sued her.
U.S. District Judge David Banning, who sentenced her to prison in 2015, ruled that the former clerk must pay Elmold and Moore's legal costs because she won the case against them. I put it down.
“They sought to legitimize their fundamental right to get married and obtain a marriage license, and they did,” Bunning said of the couple. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
The couple was represented by Michael Gartland of Delcott Law Group in Lexington. Joseph Buckles is also a Lexington attorney. and the Public Citizens Law Group in Washington, DC.
“I got everything I asked for,” Gartland told a local newspaper.
Liberty Counsel, the religious freedom group representing Davis, plans to appeal the judge's decision, arguing that the fees are excessive. The group said it plans to appeal to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals if its claim is denied.
Last year, Banning ruled that Davis “cannot use his own constitutional rights to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing his duties as an elected official.” did.
Davis, an evangelical Christian, said he believes marriage is only between a man and a woman. She faced five days of backlash over what she claimed was a defense of her beliefs, with others accusing her of being homophobic, until staff removed her name from the document. However, he was released only after the couple was given a marriage license.
The incident received widespread media attention and was parodied on an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
Davis was voted out of office as clerk in 2018.
with post wire
