A legal filing to the Supreme Court by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis looks to overturn its decision allowing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Davis was briefly jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds. That came shortly after a landmark Supreme Court decision that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples.
She’s appealing a verdict that would have her pay $100,000 in emotional damages and another $260,000 in legal fees. She also claims as part of her case the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges was wrongfully made.
Mat Staver represents Kim Davis and is the founder of Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group. He argues the decision infringed on her right to free speech, and is based on “legal fiction.”
“It makes no difference what people think about same sex marriage from a Constitutional standpoint. It's not in the Constitution, and what the Supreme Court ought to do is what they did in abortion, and that is become neutral on the matter,” he said.
A Gallup poll from last May says 68% of Americans support same-sex marriage. But there’s also a growing split in opinion along party lines since the Obergefell decision 10 years ago.
The poll says 41% of Republicans support same-sex marriage, down from a record high 55% three years ago. A record 88% of Democrats support same-sex marriage in comparison.
William Powell represents David Ermold and David Moore, the couple that sued Davis after having their marriage license denied. He said in a statement to WEKU that Davis’ arguments “do not merit further attention.”
“We are confident the Supreme Court, like the court of appeals, will conclude that Davis's arguments do not merit further attention. Marriage equality is settled law,” he said.
Tiffany Atkins teaches law at the University of Kentucky. She says traditionally, it’s not a case the Supreme Court would hear out. The case would hinge on qualified immunity, which protects government officials from lawsuits.
“In the Sixth Circuit just this March, they affirmed the lower court's decision that she's not granted qualified immunity. So now several lower courts have said she doesn’t have a case,” Atkins said.
Atkins says the court’s conservative lean could impact whether the body decides to take it on.
“Given the conservative leanings of the court, they may decide to take it, that they may see it as enough of a constitutional challenge for them to accept it, especially in light of some of the concurrences from the Dobbs decision that put a target on Obergefell,” she said.
Davis’ case would likely take months to deliberate over if the Supreme Court decides to hear it. The court would need to agree to take on the case and hear legal arguments before a final decision is made. Atkins says that could take until next spring or summer.
