Overview
- Davis filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in July asking justices to reverse the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling and eliminate roughly $360,000 in damages and fees she owes for denying same-sex marriage licenses
- Her appeal brands Obergefell’s substantive-due-process basis a “legal fiction” and contends that First Amendment free-exercise protections shield her from state-imposed liability
- A three-judge Sixth Circuit panel unanimously ruled that public officials cannot use the Free Exercise Clause to avoid personal liability when carrying out or refusing official duties
- Legal experts say the petition faces steep procedural and doctrinal hurdles but acknowledge that the Court’s conservative majority and prior calls to revisit substantive-due-process precedents could influence whether certiorari is granted
- Congress’s 2022 Respect for Marriage Act and strong public support for same-sex marriage would preserve existing unions even if the Court modifies or limits Obergefell