Judge Dianne Hensley (Photo: First Liberty Institute) (First Liberty Institute)
A Texas judge was awarded more than $600,000 after she was disciplined for refusing to perform same-sex marriages, citing her religious beliefs.
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McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley was awarded $10,000 in damages after a Travis County District Court found that her religious rights were violated. Hensley will also recover $630,000 in fees.
What they’re saying:
“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, said. “We are grateful that this case has concluded and that Judge Hensley was vindicated.”
Hensley was pubically admonished in 2019 for refusing to perform same-sex weddings while continuing to wed heterosexual couples. Hensley is quoted by FOX News as saying her “Bible-believing” Christian conscience prevented her from adhering to the state’s code of conduct.
The warning, the second-highest of six disciplinary measures used by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, said Hensley was “casting doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge due to the person’s sexual orientation.”
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According to First Liberty Institute, Hensley put together a referral list of area wedding officiants that would perform a same-sex wedding at her price.
Hensley then sued the commission claiming they violated her religious liberty under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The case was eventually heard in 2024 by the Texas Supreme Court, who ruled the case against the commission could proceed and sent it back down to the lower court to be heard.
In October 2025, the Texas Supreme Court
In January, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in a different case that the commission had no authority to discipline judges who refuse to perform same-sex weddings for moral or religious reasons. After the Supreme Court decision, the District Court ruled in Hensley’s favor.
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