Kentucky Taxpayers Must Pay Over $200,000 in Attorney’s Fees After Kim Davis Loses Appeal

Via video screenshot
Via video screenshot
Kim Davis refused to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples.

Taxpayers in Kentucky must pay attorney fees for couples who filed a case against Kim Davis[/tweetit], the Rowan County Clerk, as ruled by Federal Judge David Bunning. This order was issued even though commissioner Terry Manuel and Governor Matt Bevin put forward the argument that the Kentucky state was not represented by Davis when she consciously took action in knowing contravention of the ruling passed by the Supreme Court.

Kentucky Taxpayers Must Pay Over $200,000 in Attorney’s Fees After Kim Davis Loses Appeal[/tweetthis]

Davis shot into the national limelight in 2015 upon her refusal to issue legal marriage licenses to couples belonging to the same sex.

According to commissioner Manuel, the fees should be imposed against Kim Davis along with the Clerk's Office of Rowan County. Bevin chimed in, saying the same. Manuel is the commissioner of Kentucky Department for the Libraries and Archives. Judge Bunning has passed the order where Kentucky state must pay an amount of $222,695 to attorneys representing April Miller along with the other plaintiffs. The judge also ordered an extra $2,008.

The argument put forward by Manuel and Bevin is that state officials have never given approval or directed Davis to the contested actions. The county clerk went against the ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Obergefell vs. Hodges. Bunning on October 23 completely rejected their appeals.

Judge Bunning made it clear as to why the state government owes the attorneys of the suing couple $222,695 as legal fees. He said since Davis represented Commonwealth of Kentucky at the time of refusal to issue marriage licenses to couples who are fully in line with the law. He continued on to say that it is extremely unfortunate that the taxpayers of Kentucky state will be forced to sponsor this financial burden of litigation strategies and unlawful actions of their own elected official. He then continued on to remind the people of Kentucky that they can make their opinions known at the time of voting.

Kim Davis, along with Matt Staver, her lawyer, submitted an appeal against such a decision, saying the whole incident cannot be considered her fault. However, it is clearly evident that the incident which forced the plaintiffs to file a case was actually due to her and hers alone. The judge has essentially made the same argument. He pointed out that the defendants could not point out that the earlier judgment was an unjust one.

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