A Texas court has awarded more than $640,000 to a justice of the peace who was disciplined after declining to officiate same-sex weddings because of her religious beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ruling marks the end of an eight-year legal battle over religious liberty and the rights of public officials to decline participation in ceremonies that conflict with their faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judge Dianne Hensley will receive $10,000 in damages after a Travis County district court found that her religious freedom rights were violated under Texas law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court also ordered the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct to pay approximately $630,000 in attorney fees incurred during the litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hensley was represented by First Liberty Institute and attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to First Liberty, the dispute began after Hensley chose not to officiate same-sex marriages because doing so conflicted with her Christian beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than refuse service outright, Hensley established a referral system to ensure couples seeking same-sex marriage ceremonies could quickly obtain another officiant at no additional cost or delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters argued that the arrangement allowed Hensley to remain faithful to her religious convictions while ensuring members of the public continued to receive wedding services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, called the decision an important victory for religious liberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great victory for people of faith,\u201d Sasser told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for people of faith to be able to decline to participate in things that they find are incompatible with their religious faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasser also praised Hensley\u2019s efforts to accommodate couples despite her religious objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think one of the great things about how Judge Hensley handled things here is that she not only was exercising her religious faith to say, \u2018Hey, look, I can do some marriages, but not others,\u2019 but she was also being a good neighbor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Sasser, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct first issued Hensley a warning in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the commission informed her that continuing to perform some marriages while declining same-sex ceremonies could result in additional disciplinary action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey gave her a warning that if she continued to do any kind of weddings without performing same-sex weddings that they would take it to the next level and continue the punishment against her,\u201d Sasser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The warning ultimately led to years of litigation over whether the disciplinary action violated protections for religious liberty under Texas law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the legal battle, Texas officials also made changes to the state\u2019s judicial conduct rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasser said the Texas Supreme Court amended judicial ethics rules to provide greater religious accommodations for judges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also noted that the Texas Legislature reformed the membership and structure of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Sasser, those changes were intended to reduce the likelihood of similar disputes arising in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the ruling, Hensley said she remained focused on serving the public while remaining true to her faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll I wanted to do was serve our community and maintain my faith commitments,\u201d Hensley said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am thankful the law prevailed after eight long years, and we restored religious liberty to the land.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct declined to comment on the court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case adds to the ongoing national debate over the intersection of religious liberty and anti-discrimination protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of Hensley argue the decision affirms that government officials do not surrender their constitutional and statutory religious rights simply because they hold public office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics of similar exemptions have argued that public officials should provide government services equally to all citizens regardless of personal religious beliefs, Fox News reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Travis County court\u2019s ruling resolves Hensley\u2019s case under Texas law, awarding damages and attorney fees while concluding that the disciplinary action violated her protected religious freedoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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