Miller v. Davis
| Miller v. Davis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky | |
| Full case name | April Miller et al. vs. Kim Davis in her individual and official capacity as Rowan County Clerk |
| Date decided | August 18, 2015 |
| Judge sitting | David L. Bunning, U.S.D.J. |
| Case history | |
| Prior actions | preliminary injunction issued, defendant placed in federal custody for contempt of court |
| Keywords | |
| Same-sex marriage in Kentucky, U.S. Amendment 1, Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause | |
Miller v. Davis is a federal lawsuit in the United States regarding the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide on June 26, 2015, the county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, Kim Davis, refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple to avoid issuing them to same-sex couples, citing her religious beliefs. She also refused to allow her deputies to issue the licenses, as they would still bear her title and name. On August 12, 2015, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning ordered Davis to issue marriage licenses to all couples. He stayed his ruling until August 31, at her request, while she sought a stay pending appeal. A federal appeals court denied the stay, followed by the Supreme Court who also refused to stay the ruling. On September 3, Judge Bunning ordered Davis jailed for contempt of court until she complies with the order. Davis was released on September 8, following her deputy clerks issuing marriage licenses to the plaintiffs during her jailing. On September 14, Davis returned to work where she is not standing in the way of her clerks issuing licenses, though she questions their validity. The case was dismissed as moot on April 19, 2016.
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that a state may not refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kentucky had previously banned same-sex marriage by constitutional amendment, thus same-sex couples rushed to get married as soon as the decision was handed down. The county clerk of Rowan County, Kim Davis, has refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple, same-sex or opposite-sex, since the decision.
On July 1, 2015, two same-sex couples and two opposite-sex couples represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky against Kim Davis. The case was assigned to Judge David L. Bunning. Hearings for a preliminary injunction ordering Kim Davis to issue marriage licenses to all couples were held on July 13, and July 20. The plaintiffs contend that Obergefell mandates marriage licenses be issued to all couples across the nation, including in Rowan County. Davis contends that the First Amendment protects her from having to do so, as her religious beliefs forbid her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and thus she stopped issuing them to any couple.
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