Kentucky clerk Kim Davis violated the civil rights of same-sex couples when she refused to issue them marriage licenses, a judge has ruled.
The ruling was issued Friday in two lawsuits facing the former Rowan County clerk, The Associated Press reported.
Two same-sex couples sued Davis when she denied them the paperwork that would have allowed them to marry.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning said Davis “cannot use her own constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing her duties as an elected official,” the AP reported.
Davis said she has a religious objection to all same-sex marriages and stopped issuing all marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples could marry nationwide.
A judge had ordered her to issue licenses and she refused, spending five days in jail because of it.
Her staff ended up issuing licenses on her behalf but the papers did not have her name on the form, the AP reported.
Davis said she had qualified immunity that protected her from being sued for damages.
A jury will now decide what, if any, damages the couples could be owed, the AP reported.
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