Jones v. Perry

Bradley Jones (plaintiff) was engaged to Kentucky state prisoner Kathryn Sauer. In July 2016, Jones sought a marriage license from Shelby County clerk Sue Perry (defendant). Perry refused to issue the license, asserting that her office interpreted Kentucky law as requiring both fiancés to appear in person before the clerk before a marriage license could be issued. Sauer’s prison refused to transport Sauer to Perry’s office to satisfy the in-person requirement. Perry’s interpretation of Kentucky law was based on a 2008 memo from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Activities (KDLA). The memo explained that marriage-license applications had signature blanks for both bride and groom, and because a Kentucky statute required clerks to ensure that every blank space on an application was filled before delivering a marriage license, the clerk must have both parties present to sign the application. In 2009, however, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General (OAG) issued a letter noting that the KDLA’s in-person requirement likely interfered with prisoners’ fundamental rights to marry. Even though the OAG’s letter had advised the state to adopt a procedure that would allow prisoners to exercise their rights, Perry was citing the same in-person requirement seven years later. Jones sued Perry, arguing that the in-person requirement violated his fundamental right to marry guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court treated Jones’s action as one for a permanent injunction and considered whether Jones had established a constitutional violation warranting injunctive relief.