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Title: Kim Davis, Prisoner of Conscience: RELEASED!
Source:
Breitbart
URL Source: http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern ... isoner-or-conscience-released/
Published: Sep 8, 2015
Author: Austin Ruse
Post Date: 2015-09-08 15:07:08 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 23982
Comments: 191
Judge David Bunning jailed Davis last Thursday after she repeatedly refused to grant any marriage licenses from her office as long as they had to include same-sex couples. Davis cited her religious beliefs in refusing to issue the licenses, even though the Supreme Court imposed same-sex marriage on the country last June 26. In his order issued today Bunning said, “Defendant Davis shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples. If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this Order and appropriate sanctions will be considered.” Bunning says he is satisfied that Davis’s staff has so far adhered to his order to issue marriage licenses to all qualified applicants. He has ordered that Davis’s office report to him every 14 days to demonstrate that the office is continuing to follow the order to grant licenses to same-sex couples. He notes that the reports so far have shown the Office of County Clerk of Rowan County no longer puts Davis’s name on marriage liceneses but instead uses “Rowan County” where her name is supposed to go. Davis’s attorney Matthew Staver of Liberty Cousel issued the following statement: “We are pleased that Kim Davis has been ordered released. She can never recover the past six days of her life spent in an isolated jail cell, where she was incarcerated like a common criminal because of her conscience and religious convictions. She is now free to return to her family, her coworkers and the office where she has faithfully served for the past 27 years. We will continue to assist Kim and pursue the multiple appeals she has filed.” There is no word on whether Davis intends to interfere with the issuance of marriage licenses in her office in defiance of the court order. 
After five days in jail, Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis is being freed by the judge who put her there.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 179.
#6. To: cranky, nolu chan, CZ82, liberator (#0)
If you could make a piece of paper 'even more' worthless the above adds to it.
The crap is in the footnote. See my #11 and #14. Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 402.100(3)(a) requires, (a) A statement by the person performing the marriage ceremony or the clerk of the religious society performing the marriage ceremony that the ceremony was performed. The statement shall include the name and title of the person performing the ceremony, or the name of the religious society performing the ceremony, the names of persons married, the date and place of the marriage, the names of two (2) witnesses, and the following information as recorded on the license authorizing the marriage: the date the license was issued, the name of the county clerk under whose authority the license was issued, and the county in which the license was issued;
It's dicey for a federal judge to meddle quite so much in state laws like this but I expect that Bunning wrote some application of RFRA to remove her name but included in his ruling the stipulation that licenses issued with only the county name due to an RFRA exception must be granted equal standing to all other licenses issued in the state. Obviously, there are some delicate issues to tiptoe around. I bet Bunning consulted a number of experts and hit the books himself as well. BTW, this judge is Jim Bunning's son. So I suppose we have to consider that he is turning this case into a hand grenade and pulling the pin. His dad would do that on a routine basis in the Senate. It drove McConnell insane with rage. Which made old Bunning very happy and he wasn't shy about his feelings.
State law still says there is no such thing as same sex marriage. Judge Bunning ignored state law. He has no authority to order state authorities to act contrary to state law. He has authority to strike down state laws as unconstitutional. The state requirement to have the clerk's name on a license does not appear to be unconstitutional.
Judge Bunning ignored state law. He has no authority to order state authorities to act contrary to state law. He has authority to strike down state laws as unconstitutional. The state requirement to have the clerk's name on a license does not appear to be unconstitutional. Worth repeating. But now that we've determined that Judge Bunning has indeed over-stepped his legal authority within the state of KY, whose toes is THIS fascist SOB stepping on, and shouldn't *they* step up to the plate and reprimand Bunning for his abuse of authority and over-officiousness? This End-Zone dance for a TD that's illegal has gone on far too long.
No, he hasn't. He's a federal judge.
How does being a federal judge make his actions lawful? Judges can screw up.
I guess SCOTUS makes that call doesn't it?
Yes, George III thought so too.
Yes, George III thought so too. He didn't know SCOTUS from a hole in the wall. But I guess there are those who think it will be useful to ask SCOTUS to rule again on gay marriages. They could use their time more productively by doing something like......oh, I don't know.......shoveling sand against the tide.
I can't seem to get anyone to say exactly what they would prefer to have happen in this case and similar ones.
Why is no senior authority in the STATE held responsible? When she was in jail for contempt, why was the STATE not ordered to cure the problem? Is nobody in the state responsible to do something about the problem? How about the governor? If the Federal court was going to act, why did it not act to levy a fine against the STATE until the STATE cured the problem. A very large and progressively larger fine until the governor got off his ass and acted. The STATE should have acted to remove Davis from office. The Court should have provided encouragement to do so.
She deserved a chance for redemption on her own - she didn't repent:) Besides the suit was filed in Federal court not the State court. I do not recall that anyone, including Davis, asked the State to intervene once the suit was filed or even before. It was only after her ass was put in jail did Davis ask the State for an accomidation - which she received pretty quickly. Further, the Governor did state that the licenses issued by the Deputies are valid. Had he not done so I doubt that she would have gotten out of jail. So if Davis continues her antics and attempts to interfere with the issuing of the licenses in any way I hope that she goes directly back to jail and takes Huckabee with her.
I take it you "do not recall" because you never made the effort to find out in the first place. All your contentions are inaccurate except that the suit was filed in Federal court -- against Kim Davis. Actually, it starts with Obergefell and Governor Beshear's letter of 26 June 2015 to Kentucky County Clerks, the April Miller et al lawsuit filed 2 July 2015, followed by the Kim Davis' letter of 8 July 2015 to Governor Beshear. There was also Davis' request for reasonable accomodation to Judge Bunning. To be sure, County Clerk Kimberly Davis notified Governor Beshear that the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses by her office was contrary to her deeply held religious beliefs. Governor Beshear had a duty to make some provision for the issuance of marriage certificates in Rowan County, Kentucky in the very foreseeable event that the office of Kim Davis would not issue them. Even when the office stopped issuing marriage licenses, it appears that Governor Beshear did nothing and waited for a Federal judge to do his job for him. Governor Beshear could have called the legislators into session. He did not. As accomodation, the law could have been tweaked to permit the County Judge to issue such licenses as the religious convictions of Kim Davis did not permit. If one is to presume that the Deputy Clerks can lawfully issue licenses on the say so of a Federal judge, then it would seem they could do so on the say so of a Governor as an emergency measure until the legislature could change the law or impeach and remove Kim Davis, and she could be replaced. It is not the duty of Federal courts to do the Governor's job for him. He did nothing to provide for the issuance of licenses, even when the clerk's office stopped issuing them. He did nothing when the County Clerk was in jail. He sat on his ass and waited for the Federal judge to do his dirty work for him. Governor Beshear letter of 26 June 2015 to County Clerks: Steven L. Beshear June 26, 2015 Dear Kentucky County Clerks: Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision regarding the constitutionality of states' bans on same-sex marriage. The Court struck down those laws, finding that they were invalid under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. As elected officials, each of us has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Kentucky. The Obergefell decision makes plain that the Constitution requires that Kentucky - and all states - must license and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples. Neither your oath nor the Supreme Court dictates what you must believe. But as elected officials, they do prescribe how we must act. Effective today, Kentucky will recognize as valid all same sex marriages performed in other states and in Kentucky. In accordance with my instruction, all executive branch agencies are already working to make any operational changes that will be necessary to implement the Supreme Court decision. Now that same-sex couples are entitled to the issuance of a marriage license, the Department of Libraries and Archives will be sending a gender-neutral form to you today, along with instructions for its use. You should consult with your county attorney on any particular aspects related to the implementation of the Supreme Court's decision. While there are certainly strongly held views on both sides of this issue, I know that Kentuckians are law-abiding people and will respect the rule of law. After all, the things that unite us as a people are much stronger than the things that divide us. Thank you in advance for the valuable services you continue to render to the people of the Commonwealth. Sincerely, Steven L. Beshear The litigation began in District Court on 2 July 2015 as: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/kentucky/kyedce/0:2015cv00044/78171 Case Number: 0:2015cv00044 Filed: July 2, 2015 Court: Kentucky Eastern District Court Office: Ashland Office County: Rowan Presiding Judge: David L. Bunning Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights Cause of Action: 42:1983 Jury Demanded By: Both Kim Davis' letter of 8 July 2015 to Governor Beshear: 600 West Main Street July 8, 2015 The Honorable Governor Steve Beshear The recent Obergefell decision by the Supreme Court of the United States has not only impacted Kentucky's same sex marriage ban, but has put numerous County Clerks' moral and religious beliefs at odds with their current required duties. Many Clerks firmly believe that forcing County Clerk offices to issue same-sex marriage licenses when it is against their deeply held religious beliefs and traditions is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution s First Amendment This dramatic and sudden change has caused some Clerks to go as far as to halt issuing marriage licenses to anyone rather than compromise their deeply held religious convictions. This position has ignited litigation and it is foreseeable that it may invite more lawsuits. It appears the only timely and reasonable solution to this conflict is a legislative one. So for that reason, I respectfully request that you immediately call an extraordinary session of the General Assembly to address the issues that have been caused in this transition from traditional marriage being re-defined to include same-sex couples. Legislators and Clerks of many political stripes working alongside other third parties have been drafting commonsense legislation that would modify Kentucky's marriage laws to satisfy the concerns of the majority of Clerks, while still abiding by the Obergefell ruling. It is my belief that our proposal could be passed by the General Assembly in an expedited timeframe of the absolute minimum of five days. The potential cost to calling a special session is easily justified by the alleviation of future potential lawsuits and relieving the concerns of many County Clerics who serve their local communities. I ask that you not just consider the current litigation, but what litigation could be invited after the 2018 County Clerk elections are concluded, if the status quo is to remain in place. Respectfully submitted, Kimberly Davis "Thank you for the opportunity to serve Rowan County" 12 August 2015, Judge Bunning MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER, page 13: This proposal also has adverse consequences for Judge Blevins. If he began issuing marriage licenses while Davis continued to perform her other duties as Rowan County Clerk, he would likely be exceeding the scope of his office. After all, KRS § 402.240 only authorizes him to issue marriage licenses when Davis is unable to do so; it does not permit him to assume responsibility for duties that Davis does not wish to perform. Such an arrangement not only has the potential to create tension between the next judge executive and county clerk, it sets the stage for further manipulation of statutorily defined duties. Under these circumstances, the Court simply cannot count this as a viable option for Plaintiffs to obtain their marriage licenses.
This dramatic and sudden change has caused some Clerks to go as far as to halt issuing marriage licenses to anyone rather than compromise their deeply held religious convictions. This position has ignited litigation and it is foreseeable that it may invite more lawsuits. It sounds like Davis thought she wouldn't be alone in opposing. I don't recall other clerks ceasing to issue marriage licenses as Davis did. But she thought there would be others apparently. Bunning could have jailed her until she complied or resigned. This would make her office legally vacant which would have allowed Judge Blevins to issue licenses. Alternatively, another deputy clerk, the senior or most qualified in the office, would become interim acting clerk. This would be harsher because it might lead to Davis sitting in jail for months and losing her office and income.
Bunning could jail her on contempt. That does not make anyone else the Clerk, it does not give anyone the power to issue licenses, nobody claimed to possess such power, and nobody issued licenses using said imaginary power until order to do so by a judge. Then the Deputy Clerks changed the only recognized form of issuance. Being held in contempt does not make Davis' office vacant. She was always the Clerk, and upon release, she is going back to the office as the Clerk. Your fine pronouncements would sound better if you could quote any provision of Kentucky law which permits them.
Your fine pronouncements would sound better if you could quote any provision of Kentucky law which permits them. I think Bunning's solution will hold for the interim and the legislature will then enact changes with retroactive provisions to keep the Rowan County licenses legal. In the meantime, the KY AG will run interference and stall if necessary until the new legislation is enacted on an emergency basis sometime next spring. It would be the no-fuss solution. And Davis would keep her office. The legislature does have other options. They could also allow a clerk from a neighboring county to travel to a courthouse with an objecting clerk like Davis to write a license or record a certificate. If the applicants don't want to wait a few hours or so for the other clerk to arrive, then they could just go to a neighboring county. Dislike it as much as you want but Bunning's way seems to be the least harmful since Davis won't lose her office and Kentucky's political scene won't get disrupted for the interim.
#181. To: TooConservative (#179)
Bunning's solution may be challenged tomorrow if Davis returns to work. There is nothing the KY AG is empowered to do now that he could not have done when the problem arose. The Federal judge cannot bestow State powers on anyone. How can you refer to a congressional session 9 months after the problem arose as an "emergency basis." They are scheduled to return in January. The Governor can call them into session at any time. July might have been a good time to resolve this issue without the fuss and bother. It would have been a no fuss solution in July and no need for lawsuits. I don't know about a Clerk acting outside of his/her jurisdiction. The amount of gay marriages is low enough it could have been passed to the County judge. Had the Governor done his job in July, there would be no need for litigation. Davis is still in office, nothing has been resolved, and it is not known if there will not be another disruption. As for the political scene getting disrupted, the Governor did nothing as he is well aware that the people amended their Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and it is very widely opposed in the state. Predicting there will be no further political disruption is like a post-Roe assessment that the Court had put the issue of abortion to rest.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestHe notes that the reports so far have shown the Office of County Clerk of Rowan County no longer puts Davis’s name on marriage liceneses but instead uses “Rowan County” where her name is supposed to go.
#15. To: redleghunter, cranky, CZ82, liberator (#6)
If you could make a piece of paper 'even more' worthless the above adds to it.
(3) A certificate to be delivered by the person performing the marriage ceremony or the clerk of the religious society performing the marriage ceremony to the parties married. This certificate shall provide for the entering of:
#18. To: nolu chan (#15)
(Edited)
and the following information as recorded on the license authorizing the marriage: the date the license was issued, the name of the county clerk under whose authority the license was issued, and the county in which the license was issued;
#19. To: TooConservative (#18)
It's dicey for a federal judge to meddle quite so much in state laws like this but I expect that Bunning wrote some application of RFRA to remove her name but included in his ruling the stipulation that licenses issued with only the county name due to an RFRA exception must be granted equal standing to all other licenses issued in the state.
#24. To: nolu chan (#19)
State law still says there is no such thing as same sex marriage.
#37. To: Liberator (#24)
But now that we've determined that Judge Bunning has indeed over-stepped his legal authority within the state of KY...
#44. To: TooConservative, Liberator (#37)
No, he hasn't. He's a federal judge.
#47. To: nolu chan, TooConservative, Liberator (#44)
How does being a federal judge make his actions lawful? Judges can screw up.
#95. To: SOSO, nolu chan, liberator (#47)
I guess SCOTUS makes that call doesn't it?
#140. To: redleghunter, nolu chan, liberator (#95)
guess SCOTUS makes that call doesn't it?
#143. To: SOSO (#140)
But I guess there are those who think it will be useful to ask SCOTUS to rule again on gay marriages. They could use their time more productively by doing something like......oh, I don't know.......shoveling sand against the tide.
#149. To: TooConservative, SOSO (#143)
I can't seem to get anyone to say exactly what they would prefer to have happen in this case and similar ones.
#158. To: nolu chan, TooConservative (#149)
The STATE should have acted to remove Davis from office. The Court should have provided encouragement to do so.
#160. To: SOSO (#158)
She deserved a chance for redemption on her own - she didn't repent:) Besides the suit was filed in Federal court not the State court. I do not recall that anyone, including Davis, asked the State to intervene once the suit was filed or even before. It was only after her ass was put in jail did Davis ask the State for an accomidation - which she received pretty quickly.
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Office: of the Governor
700 Capitol Avenue
Suite 100
Frankfort. KY 4060) April Miller, Karen Ann Roberts, Shantel Burke, Stephen Napier, Jody Fernandez, Kevin Holloway, L. Aaron Skaggs and Barry W. Spartman, PLAINTIFFS
v.
Kim Davis and Rowan County, Kentucky, DEFENDANTS Kim Davis
Rowan County Clerk
Room 102
Morehead, KY 40351
700 Capitol Avenue Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601 However, Davis asks the Court to deem her “absent,” for purposes of this statute, because she has a religious objection to issuing the licenses. While this is certainly a creative interpretation, Davis offers no legal precedent to support it.
#163. To: nolu chan (#160)
Davis: The recent Obergefell decision by the Supreme Court of the United States has not only impacted Kentucky's same sex marriage ban, but has put numerous County Clerks' moral and religious beliefs at odds with their current required duties. Many Clerks firmly believe that forcing County Clerk offices to issue same-sex marriage licenses when it is against their deeply held religious beliefs and traditions is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution s First Amendment
Bunning: However, Davis asks the Court to deem her “absent,” for purposes of this statute, because she has a religious objection to issuing the licenses. While this is certainly a creative interpretation, Davis offers no legal precedent to support it.
This proposal also has adverse consequences for Judge Blevins. If he began issuing marriage licenses while Davis continued to perform her other duties as Rowan County Clerk, he would likely be exceeding the scope of his office.
#173. To: TooConservative (#163)
Bunning could have jailed her until she complied or resigned. This would make her office legally vacant which would have allowed Judge Blevins to issue licenses. Alternatively, another deputy clerk, the senior or most qualified in the office, would become interim acting clerk.
#179. To: nolu chan (#173)
Being held in contempt does not make Davis' office vacant. She was always the Clerk, and upon release, she is going back to the office as the Clerk.
Replies to Comment # 179. I think Bunning's solution will hold for the interim and the legislature will then enact changes with retroactive provisions to keep the Rowan County licenses legal. In the meantime, the KY AG will run interference and stall if necessary until the new legislation is enacted on an emergency basis sometime next spring.
It would be the no-fuss solution. And Davis would keep her office.
The legislature does have other options. They could also allow a clerk from a neighboring county to travel to a courthouse with an objecting clerk like Davis to write a license or record a certificate. If the applicants don't want to wait a few hours or so for the other clerk to arrive, then they could just go to a neighboring county.
Dislike it as much as you want but Bunning's way seems to be the least harmful since Davis won't lose her office and Kentucky's political scene won't get disrupted for the interim.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 179.
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