A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to a Kentucky couple who sued former county clerk Kim Davis over her refusal to difficulty marriage licenses to same-sex {couples}.
Davis, the previous Rowan County clerk, drew worldwide consideration when she was briefly jailed in 2015 over her refusal, which she based mostly on her perception that marriage ought to solely be between a person and a girl.
A jury in Ashland, Kentucky, awarded David Ermold and David Moore every $50,000 after deliberating on Wednesday, based on legal professionals for Davis. A second couple who sued, James Yates and Will Smith, had been awarded no damages on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge David Bunning.
Bunning despatched Davis to jail for 5 days in 2015 after holding her in contempt of courtroom.
She was launched solely after her employees issued the licenses on her behalf however eliminated her title from the shape. Kentucky’s state legislature later enacted a legislation eradicating the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.
Bunning dominated final yr that Davis violated the constitutional rights of the 2 {couples}. The trials held this week had been held to determine damages in opposition to Davis. The former clerk had argued {that a} authorized doctrine known as certified immunity protected her from being sued for damages by the {couples}.
Mat Staver, founding father of the Liberty Counsel, which represented Davis within the case, stated in a launch 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 listen to an enchantment from Davis’ legal professionals within the case in 2020.
Ermold unsuccessfully ran for clerk of Rowan County in 2018, when Davis was defeated by one other Democrat.
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