ACLU Asks for More Than $200,000 in Costs Associated With Kim Davis Case
Attorneys for the couples who sued a clerk over marriage licenses filed a motion Monday to recover legal fees associated with the lawsuits.
The ACLU is seeking $233,058 from the case against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, reports the Courier Journal.
“It is unfortunate that an elected official sought to use her office to withhold government services on the basis of her religious beliefs. And it is equally regrettable that the county may now have to pay for her misuse of that office and her refusal to comply with the court’s orders,” Michael Aldrige, the executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said.
Davis refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses to gay couples after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015, citing her religious beliefs. She spent some time in jail because of her refusal; upon her release, a group of same-sex and straight couples sued Davis, alleging her denial violated their civil rights.
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuits in August after the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that created a state marriage license that did not need a county clerk’s signature.
According to a Liberty Counsel press release, two other plaintiffs have filed motions to request a dismissal of the previous ruling. One plaintiff filed in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to ask for the ruling to be dismissed.
“The plaintiffs have filed ‘Hail Mary’ requests to reverse the Court of Appeals and the district court, but both courts have dismissed the cases and closed the files on the Kim Davis case. The ACLU is not entitled to attorney’s fees. Kim Davis won the case and the case is closed,” Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, said in the press release.
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