Kim Davis Fines Top $360,000 as Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Over Same-Sex Marriage Case

Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis spent six years in jail in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couple David Moore and David Ermold. She claimed that she did so 'under God's authority.' However, her opposition to the same-sex marriage cost her $100,000 for emotional damages and an additional $260,000 in attorneys' fees.

Moore and Ermold filed the case insisting they had a right to marry under the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case. The US Supreme Court ruled that under the Fourteenth Amendment, the fundamental right to marry is protected by the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. Hence, it applies to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

The jury in the gay marriage case levied a total of $360,000 in fines, and it stands. Davis filed an appeal in August 2025 to overturn the ruling. Her lawyers argued that she is immune from personal liability citing the First Amendment's protection of the free exercise of religion.

Legal Fiction

Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy penned the majority opinion on the Obergefell case, which Mathew Staver, attorney for Davis, described as 'legal fiction.' 'The mistake must be corrected,' he told the court.

Kennedy stressed 'love and marriage' in the last paragraph of his opinion. A portion read, "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.'

The retired justice also said his concern for adopted children partly influenced his reasoning. 'They also suffer the significant material costs of being raised by unmarried parents, relegated through no fault of their own to a more difficult and uncertain family life,' he explained.

Kennedy, a Catholic by religion, authored several milestone decisions regarding gay rights. In some of the controversial cases, he was the deciding fifth vote.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari Denied

On 10 November 2025, the Supreme Court denied Davis's petition for writ of certiorari. The justices met in closed session on November 7th on whether to hear the case. Court observers and Kennedy, too, expected the decision, suggesting it was a long shot at the onset. No reason was given for the rejection.

William Powell, the lawyer of Moore and Ermold, said, 'The Supreme Court's denial of review confirms what we already knew: same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, and Kim Davis's refusal to issue marriage licenses in defiance of Obergefell plainly violated that right.

'This is a win for same-sex couples everywhere who have built their families and lives around the right to marry,' Powell added.

Federal Protection

The Obergefell case was a decided by a slim 5-4 vote. Because of the ruling, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Insular Areas under US sovereignty must recognize same-sex marriages and perform them.

In 2022, former POTUS Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law. It repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and recognized the legitimacy of same-sex and interracial marriages. Had the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Davis, same-sex marriages would still have been protected on the federal level.