'Law of the land': KY clerk who denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples loses — again
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/law-of-the-land-ky-clerk-who-denied-marriage-licenses-to-same-sex-couples-loses-again/ar-AA1ArWaW?ocid=windirect&cvid=22d74f3529b64e75a4bc14d2a70e2393&ei=59
Story by Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern (March 2025)
FRANKFORT — The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request from former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to strike down a federal jury's judgment against her, which came with a $100,000 price tag.
The opinion came down Thursday, a little more than a month after a three-judge panel heard oral arguments on the matter.
Senior Judge Helene N. White, appointed by President George W. Bush, delivered the opinion. Judge Andre B. Mathis, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, concurred. Judge Chad A. Readler, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, concurred in part.
Davis' lawyer has argued that when she refused to issue a marriage license to same-sex couple David Ermold and David Moore a decade ago, she was protected by the First Amendment, which promises freedom of speech, religion and the press.
The judges did not agree, writing in their Thursday opinion that "Davis cannot raise a Free Exercise Clause defense because she is being held liable for state action, which the First Amendment does not protect."
The judges furthermore called Davis' actions while a county clerk a "quintessential state action."
"The First Amendment shields Davis where she 'functioned as a private citizen,' but not where she "engaged in state action,'" the opinion states.