The state's judicial oversight agency must pay $640,000 to a Waco judge who was disciplined for refusing to marry gay couples, a Travis County court ruled.
Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled last Tuesday the State Commission on Judicial Conduct cannot investigate, sanction or discipline McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley for refusing to officiate same-sex weddings because of her Christian beliefs, regardless of whether she continues performing marriage for opposite-sex couples.
Hensley was awarded $10,000 in compensatory damages and $630,000 in attorney's fees.
KERA News reached out to Hensley's attorney and the commission and will update this story with any response.
Judges and justices of the peace in Texas are allowed but aren’t required to officiate weddings. After the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges legalized gay marriage nationally in 2015, some judicial officers chose to either officiate both gay and straight marriages or none at all.
Hensley, citing her Christianity, chose not to officiate any weddings but decided to perform weddings again in 2016 for straight couples only. According to court filings, she referred same-sex couples to a different judge and other nearby officiants.
The justice of the peace told the Waco Tribune-Herald of her decision in a 2017 interview. Once the judicial conduct commission learned of this, it launched an inquiry into Hensley’s policy in 2018 and issued the public warning the next year — the second-most severe form of public sanction the commission issues.
Hensley sued the commission over the discipline instead of pursuing an administrative appeal. She argued her actions were protected by the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The law prohibits the government from making restrictions that substantially burden someone’s freedom of religion.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2024 Hensley had grounds to proceed with her suit even if she didn’t first exhaust her administrative options, but justices didn’t rule on her religious freedom claims.
The commission dismissed Hensley’s sanction a few months after the Texas Supreme Court’s decision. The agency noted none of the commissioners were at the agency when it reprimanded Hensley, and it withdrew the sanction after reviewing the underlying facts.
Austin’s Third Court of Appeals sided with Hensley last May, allowing the case to move forward in Travis County District Court.
Hensley’s lawsuit in part prompted the Texas Supreme Court to amend state rules on judicial impartiality. The court’s October comment clarified judges who decline to perform a wedding ceremony based on a “sincerely held religious belief” won’t violate the state’s rules on judicial impartiality.
The comment was also likely prompted by a lawsuit filed by Jack County Judge Brian Umphress who sued the commission, alleging he was afraid he could face the same punishment as Hensley. Texas high court justices ruled in January he wouldn’t face discipline for his choice not to marry gay couples.
Hensley asked federal courts in December to overturn Obergefell altogether. The ongoing lawsuit argues the federal judiciary “has no authority to recognize or invent ‘fundamental’ constitutional rights.”
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct also faces a class-action lawsuit in Tarrant County on behalf of justices of the peace who were unwilling to perform same-sex marriages and stopped performing weddings entirely to avoid disciplinary action. The class is led by a Tarrant County justice of the peace who alleges he and other judges should recover damages from the commission under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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