This will be short and to the point. Even as Kim Davis petitions the Supreme Court for a stay of the District Court ruling ordering her to provide marriage licenses to all residents of Rowan County, the first step toward potentially removing her from office has been taken.
Details below the Great Orange Curlicue...
WLEX-TV in Lexington reports:
The Rowan County Attorney's Office has referred a charge of Official Misconduct against Rowan County Clerk, Kim Davis to the Kentucky Attorney General's Office.
Due to Kentucky Bar Association rules, officials with the Rowan Co. Attorney's Office cannot prosecute Kim Davis. The conflict case will be passed on to a prosecutor in another county.
Rowan Co. Government and the Rowan County Attorney's Office can take no future action against Kim Davis. According to a release from Cecil Watkins, they cannot remove her from office.
That decision will ultimately be up to the Kentucky State Government, according to the release.
Currently, Davis is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
A finding of official misconduct can provide impetus for several other actions under Kentucky law; there are statutes which provide for her impeachment by the State legislature (County Clerk is an elected position in Kentucky), while other statutes provides avenues by which her pay can be forfeited (on a day-to-day basis) for failure to perform her official duties.
Since County Attorneys are not allowed to prosecute misconduct cases within their own jurisdiction, it will be interesting to see which County Attorney is assigned to prosecute the case. Given the national attention this case has received, it would seem to make sense to move it to Lexington, the nearest large city; it should be noted that Lexington just reelected their openly gay mayor to his second term, has an active LGBT community, and has protected sexual orientation and gender identity through its Fairness Ordinance since 1999. Even if the case is only moved to an adjacent county (i.e. "one county over"), all of the counties surrounding Rowan County are issuing marriage licenses to all citizens. It may be difficult for Ms. Davis to find a "friendly venue" for these proceedings.
I'd say that, despite the rallies, adulation and efforts on her behalf, things just got real.
As always, discuss among yourselves in the comments.
5:05 PM PT: UPDATE: Local media now reports that, while the case will be tried by an outside prosecutor, the trial will be held in Rowan County. (Thanks to rugbymom for the info and link!)