Jury to decide how much Kim Davis owes same-sex couples she illegally denied marriage licenses

Kim Davis

Rowan County Clerk of Courts Kim Davis waves to a crowd of her supporters at a rally in front of the Carter County Detention Center on September 8, 2015 in Grayson, Kentucky. (Ty Wright/Getty Images).

Kim Davis, the former county clerk from Kentucky who infamously refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, is now asking a federal appellate court to nix a jury’s $100,000 civil judgment against her.

Previously the clerk for Rowan County in the Bluegrass State, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious beliefs. This refusal flew in the face of the landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges as well as an executive order by the governor directing all county clerks to comply with the ruling.

In turn, two couples sued Davis: David Ermold and David Moore, and James Yates and Will Smith. Each couple had been repeatedly denied a marriage license by Davis — who would go on to serve six days in jail before losing reelection to a Democrat in 2018.

In March 2022, U.S. District Judge David Bunning, a George W. Bush appointee, granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment — finding that Davis had knowingly violated the law.

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