Ex-Kentucky clerk Kim Davis asks Supreme Court to overturn same-sex marriage ruling: ‘Legal fiction'
Davis, 59, served five days in jail in 2015 after she refused to issue a marriage license to gay couple David Ermold and David Moore shortly after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
The former Rowan County, Ky., clerk was subsequently ordered to pay a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages and $260,000 in attorneys' fees to the married couple.
Advertisement
She asked the high court – in a 90-page filing last month – to review a lower court's 2022 finding that she violated Ermold and Moore's constitutional right to marry and revisit its decision in the same-sex marriage case.
3 Davis claims her First Amendment rights were violated when she was jailed and ordered to pay damages to the gay couple she refused to grant a marriage license to.
AP
'If ever a case deserved review, the first individual who was thrown in jail post-Obergefell for seeking accommodation for her religious beliefs should be it,' Liberty Counsel, the nonprofit law firm representing Davis, wrote in the petition.
Advertisement
'Davis was jailed, haled before a jury, and now faces crippling monetary damages based on nothing more than purported emotional distress,' the filing continued, arguing that Davis was protected by her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion in denying the marriage licences.
The petition also asks the justices to consider 'whether Obergefell v. Hodges … and the legal fiction of substantive due process, should be overturned.'
3 The Supreme Court previously turned down a chance to review Davis' case in 2020.
REUTERS
'Kim Davis' case underscores why the US Supreme Court should overturn the wrongly decided Obergefell v. Hodges opinion because it threatens the religious liberty of Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman,' Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a statement.
Advertisement
'Obergefell cannot just push the First Amendment aside to punish individuals for their beliefs about marriage,' Staver added. 'The First Amendment precludes making the choice between your faith and your livelihood.'
'The High Court now has the opportunity to finally overturn this egregious opinion from 2015.'
3 The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
REUTERS
William Powell, an attorney for Ermold and Moore, told The Post that he is 'confident' the Supreme Court won't take up Davis' case.
Advertisement
'We are confident the Supreme Court, like the court of appeals, will conclude that Davis's arguments do not merit further attention,' Powell, who serves as senior counsel at Georgetown University's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, said in a statement.
'Marriage equality is settled law,' he added.
The Supreme Court previously denied a 2020 petition from Davis to consider her appeal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
21 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Tariff ‘Mission Accomplished' hype is just that
On May 1, 2003, George W. Bush announced, 'Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.' He was standing below a giant banner that read, 'Mission Accomplished.' At the risk of inviting charges of understatement, subsequent events didn't cooperate. But it took a while for that to be widely accepted. We're in a similar place when it comes to President Trump's experiment with a new global trading order. 'Tariffs are making our country Strong and Rich!!!' proclaims Trump, making him not only the first Republican president in living memory to brag about raising taxes on Americans, but also the first to insist that raising taxes on Americans makes us richer. MAGA's mission-accomplished groupthink relies primarily on three arguments. The first is that Trump has successfully concluded a slew of beneficial trade deals. The truth is that some of those deals are simply 'frameworks' that will take a long time to be ironed out. But Trump got the headlines he wanted. The second argument is a kind of populism-infused sleight of hand. The 'experts' — their scare quotes, not mine — are wrong once again. The White House social media account crows, 'In April, 'experts' called tariffs 'the biggest policy mistake in 95 years.' By July, they generated OVER $100 BILLION in revenue. Facts expose the haters: tariffs WORK. Trust in Trump.' But the high-fivers are leaving things out. The most-dire predictions of economic catastrophe were based on the scheme Trump announced on April 2, a.k.a. 'Liberation Day.' Trump quickly backed off that plan ('chickened out' in Wall Street parlance) in response to a bond and stock market implosion. Saying the experts were wrong under those circumstances is like saying experts opposed to defenestration were wrong when they successfully convinced a man not to jump out a window. The third argument, made by the White House and many others — that tariffs are working because they're raising money — is a response to a claim no one made. To my knowledge, no expert claimed tariffs wouldn't raise money. The estimates of these revenues from Trump world are stratospheric. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expects somewhere between $700 billion and $1 trillion per year. Last month, the government collected $29 billion. It's likely this number will significantly increase as more tariffs come online and businesses run down the inventory they stockpiled earlier this year in anticipation of more tariffs to come. Normally, Republicans don't exult over massive revenues from tax hikes. But Trump's defenders get around this problem by insisting that money is 'pouring' and 'flowing' into America from someplace else. It's true that tariff revenue is pouring into the Treasury, but that money is coming out of American bank accounts, because American importers pay the tariff. Even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cannot deny this when pressed. So yes, tariffs are 'working' the way they're supposed to; the problem is Trump thinks tariffs work differently than they do. It's possible some foreign exporters might lower prices to maintain market share, and some American businesses might absorb the costs — for now — to avoid sticker shock for inflation-beleaguered consumers, but what revenue is generated still comes from Americans. Ultimately it means higher prices paid here, reduced profits for businesses here or reduced U.S. trade overall. Sometimes, when pressed, defenders of the administration will concede the true source of the revenues, but then they say the pain is necessary to force manufacturers and other businesses to build and produce in the United States. It's backdoor industrial policy masquerading as trade policy. That, too, might 'work.' But all of this will take time, no matter what. And, if it works, that will have costs, too. Manufacturing in America is more expensive — that's why we manufacture so much stuff abroad in the first place. If this 'reshoring' happens, our goods will be more expensive, and less money will 'pour in' from tariffs. It's difficult to exaggerate how well-understood all of this was on the American right until very recently. But the need to grab any argument available to declare Trump's experiment a success has a lot of people not only abandoning their previous dogma but leaping to the conclusion that the dogma was wrong all along. Maybe it was, though I don't think so. The evidence so far suggests that problems are looming. The dollar is weakening. Prices continue to rise. The job market is reeling. The stock market (an unreliable metric, according to MAGA, when it plummeted after Liberation Day) is holding on, thanks to tech stocks. The truth is we won't have real evidence for a while. It's worth remembering that Americans don't live by headlines and press releases and they don't live in the macro economy either. Declaring 'Mission Accomplished' for the macro economy won't convince people they're better off in their own micro-economies when they're not. @JonahDispatch
Newsweek
22 minutes ago
- Newsweek
ICE Detains Restaurant Owner Mom for Over Two Months After 21 Years in US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Kelly Yu, the owner of Kawaii Sushi in Peoria, Arizona, had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since May following a routine immigration check-in after entering the United States from China illegally decades ago. Newsweek reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security via email for comment. Why it Matters Yu's detention underscores how federal immigration enforcement could affect long-term residents and small-business owners who had built deep ties in their communities, including families with U.S. citizen children—as Yu has children who were born here. Her case has also galvanized lawmakers and advocates across partisan lines, raising questions about how removal orders issued years earlier could affect people who had lived, paid taxes and employed residents for decades. The Trump administration has dramatically cracked down on illegal immigration and touted its efforts as successful, notably massive decreases in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border since President Donald Trump came into office. However, some Americans remain ambivalent about policy end goals—including detaining non-violent, non-criminal immigrants and federal agents making arrests in schools and places of employment. Police keep watch as protesters with the group Extinction Rebellion hold a rally and march outside the immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on August 11, 2025, in New York City. Police keep watch as protesters with the group Extinction Rebellion hold a rally and march outside the immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on August 11, 2025, in New York To Know Kelly Yu was detained by ICE on May 28 and has since been held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Homeland Security Investigations told FOX 10 Phoenix that Yu entered the U.S. from Mexico in 2004 and that a federal immigration judge had issued a removal order in 2005, with subsequent appeals denied and a final appellate denial in 2016. Yu fled China in 2004 as a pregnant 18-year-old seeking asylum out of fear of China's "one child" policy. During her 21 years in the country, she has married a U.S. citizen and is a mother to an American citizen and current collegiate student, Zita, who was born shortly after Yu's U.S. arrival and is a legally protected resident. Yu owns the small business Kawaii Sushi in North Peoria. Newsweek reached out to the restaurant via email for comment. "We didn't do anything wrong," Yu said in a video interview from the detention center in July, according to local NBA affiliate 12 News. "We're not criminals." Her asylum case was denied and a federal immigration judge issued a removal order in 2005. Her appeals were later rejected, including a final denial by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016. Bipartisan Support For Yu Lisa Everett, a self-described lifelong Republican who serves as the chair for GOP Legislative District 29 in Arizona, told Newsweek the following via email on Tuesday: "Recently, I had an experience that reminded me of something our society often forgets: we have far more in common than what divides us." Everett was talking about working alongside Brent Peak, a Democrat activist who heads the grassroots, all-volunteer group Northwest Valley Indivisible in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. The pair has called for Yu's release from detention. "On paper, we should be political opposites," Everett said. "But when we learned about the plight of Kelly both knew this was an issue that transcended party lines. "Kelly is everything we want in an immigrant. She is well loved in her community she gives back to. I am grateful Brent and I came together to help her." Newsweek reached out to Peak and Northwest Valley Indivisible via email for comment. Yu has spent over a decade legally navigating the complex process of becoming a U.S. citizen, Everett added, calling her "respected" and an employer of dozens of workers. She's also given back to the community. Everett said Yu "belongs home with her family in Peoria." The way she and Peak have worked to help free Yu is a lesson that all partisans and politicians can learn from while inhabiting a "polarized" political climate, Everett added. "The truth is, if we start by identifying our shared values, we can build from there," Everett said. "For example, [Peak and I] both agree that if someone is here illegally and commits a violent crime, they should be sent home. That's a starting point for reasonable discussion, not division. "Unfortunately, too many in government are more focused on scoring political points than on serving the people they represent. Somewhere along the way, Washington, state governments, and even local governments, shifted from prioritizing people to prioritizing politics. We need to get back to governing with humanity first." Yu's legal team had filed appeals and community members launched petitions and social media campaigns seeking her release. What People Are Saying ICE, in a post on X on Tuesday: "Business owners: It's time to get right with the law. You know you're not supposed to hire illegal aliens. We're enforcing the law across the board—all businesses in all industries. ICE is not currently visiting businesses that are part of our IMAGE program—we trust that they're compliant." Yu's husband, Aldo, said the following per NBC affiliate 12 News: "Every single day, someone asks us how she's doing or where she is. It's very painful." Brent Peak, co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible, to FOX 10 Phoenix: "She has been in the country for 20 years. There's no criminal record. She has a child who was born here and is a citizen. She's built a successful business; she has given back to the community. She is the kind of person we would want in our community." Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, after meeting with Yu and another detained immigrant on August 7: "Donald Trump is going after people like Kelly Yu and Maria Pelaez who are mothers, grandmothers, members of our communities, instead of using ICE resources to go after criminals. Hearing from them and their families about what they are going through was emotional at times, especially when Maria broke down into tears telling me how proud she was when her son became a Marine. "My team and I will keep fighting for Kelly Yu and Maria Pelaez and their families. Arizonans deserve real solutions for our broken border and immigration system, not what I saw today which was ripping families and communities apart." What Happens Next Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, was expected to meet with Yu on Tuesday at the detention center. Newsweek reached out to his office via email for comment. Senator Mark Kelly visited Yu on August 7, pledging to continue pressing ICE and the Trump administration for answers on detention practices—as well as more transparency at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US, China extend tariff truce by 90 days, staving off surge in duties
By Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrea Shalal and Joe Cash WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States and China have extended a tariff truce for another 90 days, staving off triple-digit duties on each other's goods as U.S. retailers get ready to ramp up inventories ahead of the critical end-of-year holiday season. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform on Monday that he had signed an executive order suspending the imposition of higher tariffs until 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on November 10, with all other elements of the truce to remain in place. China's Commerce Ministry issued a parallel pause on extra tariffs early on Tuesday, also postponing for 90 days the addition of U.S. firms it had targeted in April to trade and investment restriction lists. "The United States continues to have discussions with the PRC to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship and our resulting national and economic security concerns," Trump's executive order stated, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China. The tariff truce between Beijing and Washington had been due to expire on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). The extension until early November buys crucial time for the seasonal autumn surge of imports for the Christmas season, including electronics, apparel and toys at lower tariff rates. The new order prevents U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from shooting up to 145%, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods were set to hit 125% - rates that would have resulted in a virtual trade embargo between the two countries. It locks in place - at least for now - a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, with Chinese duties on U.S. imports at 10%. There was relief on the streets of China's capital, where officials are grappling with the challenge Trump's trade policy poses to the economy's long-standing, export-oriented growth model. "I don't think either China or the United States wants to see their relationship continue to deteriorate," said Wang Mingyue, a 39-year-old professional working in robotics. "That's why both are taking the current approach, but the game and confrontation may not be over yet - so there's still risk." Markets showed optimism for a breakthrough between the two superpowers, with Asian stocks rising and currencies mostly steady, after treading water for weeks. Trump told CNBC last week that the U.S. and China were getting very close to a trade agreement and he would meet Xi before the end of the year if a deal was struck. TRADE 'DETENTE' CONTINUED The two sides announced a truce in their trade dispute in May after talks in Geneva, Switzerland, agreeing to a 90-day period to allow further talks. They met again in Stockholm, Sweden, in late July, and U.S. negotiators returned to Washington with a recommendation that Trump extend the deadline. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said repeatedly that the triple-digit import duties both sides slapped on each other's goods in the spring were untenable and had essentially imposed a trade embargo between the world's two largest economies. "It wouldn't be a Trump-style negotiation if it didn't go right down to the wire," said Kelly Ann Shaw, a senior White House trade official during Trump's first term and now with law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. She said Trump had likely pressed China for further concessions before agreeing to the extension. Trump pushed for additional concessions on Sunday, urging China to quadruple its soybean purchases, although analysts questioned the feasibility of any such deal. Trump did not repeat the demand on Monday. "What is he going to offer in exchange?" said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Beijing. "China says: 'you should allow us to buy more high-tech goods,' but the U.S. is reluctant." Xu said Trump's refusal to ease his 20% tariff on Chinese goods over fentanyl flows suggested both sides believed they could continue to withstand the trade shock. "If (Trump) escalates, he will struggle to gain an upper hand over China, which has many cards to play," Xu said. China's exports to the U.S. fell an annual 21.7% last month, according to the country's latest trade data, while shipments to Southeast Asia rose 16.6% over the same period as manufacturers sought to pivot to new markets and capitalise on a separate reprieve that allowed trans-shipment to the U.S. Separate U.S. data released last week showed the trade deficit with China shrank to its lowest in more than 21 years in June. Still, analysts expect the world's two largest economies to reach an agreement before long, as their deep interdependence makes pursuing alternative markets unattractive over the long term. Ryan Majerus, a former U.S. trade official now with the King & Spalding law firm, said the news would give both sides more time to work through long-standing trade concerns. 'This will undoubtedly lower anxiety on both sides as talks continue, and as the U.S. and China work toward a framework deal in the fall," he said. Washington has also been pressing Beijing to stop buying Russian oil to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine, with Trump threatening to impose secondary tariffs on China. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
