Supreme Court Denies Kim Davis Same-Sex Marriage Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk ordered to pay $360,000 in damages for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the court's 2015 ruling legalizing such unions nationwide. The decision, issued without comment as part of a routine order list, leaves intact a federal jury's verdict against Davis and reinforces the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision that established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Davis, who served as Rowan County clerk in eastern Kentucky, gained national prominence in the summer of 2015 when she halted all marriage license issuances in her office after the Obergefell ruling. Citing her Christian beliefs, she denied licenses to same-sex couples, including David Ermold and David Moore, whom she turned away three times. The couple later sued Davis in federal court, alleging violations of their constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment. A jury awarded each man $50,000 in emotional distress damages in 2023, and a judge added $260,000 in attorneys' fees and costs, totaling the $360,000 judgment.

In her appeal to the Supreme Court, Davis argued that...