Current:Home > FinanceJury awards $100,000 to Kentucky couple denied marriage license by ex-County Clerk Kim Davis -ThriveEdge Finance
Jury awards $100,000 to Kentucky couple denied marriage license by ex-County Clerk Kim Davis
View
Date:2025-04-14 01:48:52
A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to a Kentucky couple who sued former county clerk Kim Davis over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Davis, the former Rowan County clerk, drew international attention when she was briefly jailed in 2015 over her refusal, which she based on her belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
A jury in Ashland, Kentucky, awarded David Ermold and David Moore each $50,000 after deliberating on Wednesday, according to lawyers for Davis. A second couple who sued, James Yates and Will Smith, were awarded no damages on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge David Bunning.
Bunning sent Davis to jail for five days in 2015 after holding her in contempt of court.
She was released only after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. Kentucky’s state legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.
Bunning ruled last year that Davis violated the constitutional rights of the two couples. The trials held this week were held to decide damages against Davis. The former clerk had argued that a legal doctrine called qualified immunity protected her from being sued for damages by the couples.
Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, which represented Davis in the case, said in a release Wednesday they “look forward to appealing this decision and taking this case to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Davis’ lawyers in the case in 2020.
Ermold unsuccessfully ran for clerk of Rowan County in 2018, when Davis was defeated by another Democrat.
veryGood! (118)
Related
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Snow, scorpions, Dr. Seuss: What Kenyan kids talked about with top U.S. kids' authors
- Louisiana prisoner suit claims they’re forced to endure dangerous conditions at Angola prison farm
- Christian Coleman wins 100 with a world lead time of 9.83 and Noah Lyles takes second.
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Shohei Ohtani's locker cleared out, and Angels decline to say why
- Rural hospitals are closing maternity wards. People are seeking options to give birth closer to home
- Horoscopes Today, September 15, 2023
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Rapper Flo Rida uses fortune, fame to boost Miami Gardens residents, area where he was raised
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Book excerpt: Astor by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe
- A Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy was shot in his patrol car and is in the hospital, officials say
- Lots of indoor farms are shutting down as their businesses struggle. So why are more being built?
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Who is Harrison Mevis? Missouri's 'Thiccer Kicker' nails 61-yarder to beat Kansas State
- An upsetting Saturday in the SEC? Bold predictions for Week 3 in college football
- Look Back on Jennifer Love Hewitt's Best Looks
Recommendation
Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
Tens of thousands march to kick off climate summit, demanding end to warming-causing fossil fuels
McBride and Collier lead Lynx over Sun 82-75 to force a deciding Game 3 in WNBA playoffs
Alabama Barker Shares What She Looks Forward to Most About Gaining a New Sibling
Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
World War I-era plane flips onto roof trying to land near Massachusetts museum; pilot unhurt
'I have to object': Steve Martin denies punching Miriam Margolyes while filming 'Little Shop of Horrors'
New Mexico governor amends controversial temporary gun ban, now targets parks, playgrounds