Supreme Court rejects appeal from county clerk who sought to overturn same-sex marriage decision

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not revisit its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, leaving intact the 2015 protections granted to couples in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Justices rejected an appeal brought by Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who was held in contempt after she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to her religious beliefs. 

The Court declined to take up her appeal without explanation and without any noted dissents, which is not uncommon when a court declines to hear a case. 

Still, Davis’ appeal prompted fresh speculation about whether the court’s conservative majority — including three justices who dissented from the majority in Obergefell —might agree to re-hear the case. 

Davis was briefly jailed in 2015 after she refused to issue the marriage licenses, and was ordered by a district court to pay $100,000 in damages to the couple, and to cover the couple’s legal fees.

“If ever a case deserved review,” Davis’s lawyers said in their appeal, “the first individual who was thrown in jail post-Obergefell for seeking accommodation for her religious beliefs should be it.”

They also hewed closely to language used by Justice Clarence Thomas, who in 2022 used a concurring opinion to urge the court to “reconsider” gay marriage and other constitutional protections after it overturned Roe v. Wade. 

Still, the appeal had been considered to be something of a long shot. It takes four votes to get a case onto the docket — a somewhat heavy lift for the court. The decision also comes at a time when justices have agreed to review a number of politically charged cases in its upcoming term. 

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

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