Her deputies called to the court stated they would issue marriage licenses but haven't because they are afraid of her. Issuing fines alone to Ms. Davis would not have resolved the problem. Taking out of her capacity was the only way to end the contempt of court.
Judges aren't interested in being punitive for the sake of being punitive, they want to resolve problems, especially if such actions by defendants are in opposition to prior orders of the court. The judge in this case had to solve the problem and it was obvious Ms. Davis would have sustained any fines and continue with opposition to the judges order. Fines would not matter in any way to end the contempt Ms. Davis was carrying out.
It is unfortunate she wasn't able to appeal to the church for dispensation regarding her work or for her faith leaders to come forward to provide her comfort to keep her job. It is not unusual for faith leaders to grant forgiveness to a patron of the church when unable to carry out their faith to the letter of the charter due to work. It must be an orthodoxy.
September 3, 2015
By Ian Millhiser
In an interview with the Kentucky Trial Court Review, (click here) Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins expressed exasperation with Kim Davis, the anti-gay clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses due to her objections to marriage equality. Davis, Watkins said, “does not represent” the county or its values, and he added that he told Davis that he “will not and cannot support” her in her refusal to obey the Constitution.
Perhaps most significantly, Watkins also says that he learned that Davis’s deputy clerks would issue marriage licenses to all couples legally entitled to one, but that they are too afraid of Davis to do so. If Judge David Bunning, the federal judge who is expected to hold Davis in contempt after a hearing Thursday morning, orders Davis’s deputies to issue marriage licenses, Watkins says, the deputies will comply....
Judges aren't interested in being punitive for the sake of being punitive, they want to resolve problems, especially if such actions by defendants are in opposition to prior orders of the court. The judge in this case had to solve the problem and it was obvious Ms. Davis would have sustained any fines and continue with opposition to the judges order. Fines would not matter in any way to end the contempt Ms. Davis was carrying out.
It is unfortunate she wasn't able to appeal to the church for dispensation regarding her work or for her faith leaders to come forward to provide her comfort to keep her job. It is not unusual for faith leaders to grant forgiveness to a patron of the church when unable to carry out their faith to the letter of the charter due to work. It must be an orthodoxy.
September 3, 2015
By Ian Millhiser
In an interview with the Kentucky Trial Court Review, (click here) Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins expressed exasperation with Kim Davis, the anti-gay clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses due to her objections to marriage equality. Davis, Watkins said, “does not represent” the county or its values, and he added that he told Davis that he “will not and cannot support” her in her refusal to obey the Constitution.
Perhaps most significantly, Watkins also says that he learned that Davis’s deputy clerks would issue marriage licenses to all couples legally entitled to one, but that they are too afraid of Davis to do so. If Judge David Bunning, the federal judge who is expected to hold Davis in contempt after a hearing Thursday morning, orders Davis’s deputies to issue marriage licenses, Watkins says, the deputies will comply....
