A district court has sided with a Texas judge who recused herself from performing same-sex weddings on account of her Christian faith.
The decision resolved a lawsuit that Judge Dianne Hensley filed against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after it disciplined her for choosing not to officiate same-sex marriages.
The final judgment issued by a state district court permanently forbids the commission from “investigating, sanctioning, or disciplining Judge Hensley over her refusal to officiate at same sex weddings on account of her religious beliefs, regardless of whether Judge Hensley continues to perform marriages for opposite-sex couples.”
It also awards Judge Hensley $10,000 in compensatory damages under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act and requires the commission to pay $630,000 for her legal fees.
“Judge Hensley always adhered to the law and the legal guidance provided by the Attorney General of Texas,” Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal organization that represented her, said in a statement. “We are grateful that this case has concluded and that Judge Hensley was vindicated.”
Her case stems back to the Supreme Court’s decision that legalized gay marriage in 2015, prompting her to stop performing marriages due to her religious opposition to such matrimony and later performing marriages for only opposite-sex couples.
The commission then sanctioned Judge Hensley for the referral solution — her list of local wedding officiants who would perform same-sex ceremonies at her price — and accused her of violating aspects of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
Judge Hensley sued the commission and others for “violating her religious liberty” under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Last October, the Texas Supreme Court amended the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct in a different case to clarify that judges cannot face discipline or sanctions from the commission for declining to perform wedding ceremonies based on a “sincerely held religious belief.”
Judge Hensley filed a federal lawsuit in December seeking to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision that recognized same-sex marriage nationwide.
