This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Frankfort, Ky. • A federal judge has ordered Kentucky taxpayers to pay more than $220,000 in attorneys' fees for a county clerk who refused to issue marriage license to same-sex couples.
U.S. District Judge Jim Bunning says Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was acting for the state government when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the basis of her personal religious beliefs. He ordered the state to pay $222,695 in attorneys' fees and another $2,008 in costs. He said the county government and Davis herself are not liable.
Davis spent five days in jail for refusing a judge's order that she issue the licenses to gay couples shortly after a U.S. Supreme Court decision effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Kentucky's Republican governor signed a law last year that removed the names of clerks from state marriage licenses.