A district court in Texas has awarded a substantial financial victory to a state judge who objected to performing same-sex weddings that would violate her Christian faith.
The District Court of Travis County awarded the maximum $10,000 in compensatory damages and $630,000 for attorney fees to Judge Dianne Hensley in her lawsuit against the Texas State Commission which had disciplined her for recusing herself.
The ruling also permanently blocks the Commission from “investigating, sanctioning, or disciplining Judge Hensley over her refusal to officiate at same sex weddings on account of her religious beliefs.”
In 2015, the Obergefell v Hodges decision at the U.S. Supreme Court presented judges across the U.S. with an ultimatum: officiate all weddings or none – forcing judges like Hensley to choose between her faith and judicial duties.
Hensley chose her faith but was soon moved to officiate marriages again by a tearful young woman’s request. “I heard this poor young woman literally crying because they couldn’t find anybody to marry them,” Hensley told the Dallas Morning News.
“It just started really gnawing at me that this was unfair to people that nobody in the courthouse was doing weddings.”
Years later, in 2023, the Waco judge declined to officiate a same-sex wedding because of her Christian Faith. While Hensley couldn’t perform the ceremony herself, she offered a list of alternative local wedding officiants willing to do so at the same price.
“We put together a referral list so that when somebody asked for that, my staff told them that because of my faith, I could not do it, but we have a referral list we can give them,” Hensley explained to the Dallas Morning News.
Despite Hensley’s diplomatic efforts, and no complaints from the public, the Texas State Commission objected to her alternative solution and issued a “public warning” while accusing her of violating the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
Under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Waco judge sued the Commission for violating her religious liberty, eventually winning the case.
On January 9, 2026, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in a broader case that the Commission has no authority under state law to discipline judges who refuse to officiate same-sex weddings for moral or religious reasons. The district court later ruled in Hensley’s favor.
Many defended Judge Hensley’s judicial integrity, including the Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, Hiram Sasser.
“Judge Hensley always adhered to the law and the legal guidance provided by the Attorney General of Texas,” said Sasser. “We are grateful that this case has concluded and that Judge Hensley was vindicated.”
Although Hensley’s case is closed, the Texas State Commission is still facing a statewide class-action lawsuit.
Advocates are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for income lost by justices of the peace who decline to perform same-sex weddings throughout the state. First Liberty reports that some of them have been forced to stop performing weddings entirely to avoid disciplinary action from the Commission.
