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Loading ...Court nixes $5M verdict against Phelps
09.25.2009 8:49am EDT
(Richmond, Va.) A federal appeals court on Thursday tossed out a $5 million verdict against protesters who carried signs with inflammatory messages like “Thank God for dead soldiers” outside the Maryland funeral of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the signs contained “imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric” protected by the First Amendment. Such messages are intended to spark debate and cannot be reasonably read as factual assertions about an individual, the court said.A jury in Baltimore had awarded Albert Snyder damages for emotional distress and invasion of privacy. The 2006 funeral of Snyder’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in Westminster, Md., was among many military funerals that have been picketed by members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas.
Albert Snyder’s attorney, Sean E. Summers, said he and his client were disappointed.
“The most troubling fact is it leaves these grieving families helpless,” Summers said. “If you can’t use the civil process, you have no recourse.”
He said he will appeal the ruling to either the full appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We feel we owe that to Mr. Snyder and other families who have been harassed, humiliated and abused,” Summers said.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, whose father is Westboro pastor Fred Phelps, said she was pleased by the ruling.
“They had no case but they were hoping the appellate court would not do their duty to follow the rule of law and the appellate court would not do that,” said Phelps-Roper, who was among those named in the lawsuit.
“They didn’t change God and they didn’t stop us,” she said. “What they managed to do was give us a huge door, a global door of utterance. Our doctrine is all over the world because of what they did.”
Members of the Topeka, Kan.-based church have used protests at military funerals to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. One of the signs at Snyder’s funeral combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto with a slur against gay men.
Other signs included “America is Doomed,” “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,” “Priests Rape Boys” and “Thank God for IEDs,” a reference to the roadside bombs that have killed many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“As a threshold matter, as utterly distasteful as these signs are, they involve matters of public concern, including the issue of homosexuals in the military, the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, and the political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens,” Judge Robert King wrote in the appeals court’s opinion.
“Additionally, no reasonable reader could interpret any of these signs as asserting actual and objectively verifiable facts about Snyder or his son,” he wrote.
The court also said a written piece about Snyder’s funeral on the Westboro Web site was protected by the First Amendment. Unlike the signs, the Web site piece specifically named the Snyders. Even so, the court said, the missive was “primarily concerned with the Defendants’ strongly held views on matters of public concern.”
How odd not so long ago republican party would have called picketing a solders funeral as treasonouse behavior.That could only be dreamed of liberal nutballs.
Now its the compleatly INSANE sociopath’s who dine to call themselfs both republican & christian who are darring to disrespect the sacrifice made by american’s.For a bastered war to keep the oil flowing so they can criss cross the us in there giant suv’s.
So the freaks are the only one with rights……..
As a non-american, I simply can’t understand such rulings. Freedom of speech, all nice and shiny. But in my eyes, one persons freedom stops where it actually hurts someone else. Hate mongers like Phelps prepare the field for violance, he and his sect belong into rubber cells (together with these judges).
No, this is not freedom of speech, this is a perverted exaggeration of it. Hatemonging does not deserve any protection – and I seriously doubt that those who installed the rule of “freedom of speech” ever thought about cases like this one. They expected that the people use their brain to judge about what is covered under this blanket – and not use “oh we have the freedom of speech” as a dogma hammer.
I keep hoping some angry person just over the edge will shoot these people in the head. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch.
You know…being in law school has helped me to realize that they’re protection of free speach is just as vital as mine and everyone elses…this $5mil verdict, while out of good intent, isn’t founded under the basic liberties afforded to us as Americans…they can say what they want, where they want…just as WE can, as well…
The Phelps cult issues aren’t about free speech, they’re about harassment, pure and simple. You do not have the right to intrude on something like a funeral, regardless of whatever message you’re trying to spread. If they weren’t invited they shouldn’t be there, and their refusal to leave violates the rights of the family.
I must say that I have not read the opinion and so cannot say whether I believe the court made the right decision or used sound legal reasoning. I can tell you, however, that we should not so easily back down from WBC and allow them to spread their hateful message in anyway they see fit under the guise that it is “free speech.” Contrary to popular belief, not ALL speech is protected by the First Amendment. Not ALL speech is free. If it were, there would be no cause of action for defamation, people could use their speech to incite riots or violence against individuals or groups of persons, and private persons would have no right to keep others from making public certain aspects of their private lives. In my opinion, the tactics used by the Phelps clan do not fall under the umbrella of protected speech. At the very least, the lower court was correct in granting damages to the father of the slain soldier for intentional infliction of emotional distress–speech used to these ends, for example, is not protected.
Holy Crap WTF.
I thought in this country that we all had rights until those crossed the lines of the rights held by other Americans.
So this court has essentially upheld bullying.
I get the freedom of speech thing. But its a shame that in America we protect hate-mongers at the expense of decent Americans.
The Phelps clan regularly violates the rights of other Americans, and yet they are protected in this.
I am disgusted.
I saw this idiot the other evening in a interview ” Westboro pastor Fred Phelps ” I can’t believe for the life of me the trash that comes out this man mouth and his family is no better, how in Gods name can you people accept this as The Second Amend Right, come on people do something to shut these kind of people up and to make matters worse at a poor soldiers funeral who gave his life, what a shame.
How can this Westboro pastor Fred Phelps sleep at night with so much hate in him?
I agree with many here. While we’d like to bankrupt them with civil cases, it is basically free speach.
But the judge overstepped and in doing so has revealed a bias we need to fight (a bias in our own community where anti marriage rights are sometimes accepted as just an “opposing view”).
Does a judge say in a ruling that while we don’t like picketing against black equality, the issue of blacks equality is of viable public concern so it isn’t hate speach? No, of course not.
I’m stretching…but when a judge says the military ban or our moral conduct (certainly referring to marriage equality) are “matters of public concern” she gives legs to the argument that people simply disagree on these things.
People do disagree but the disagreement should be about whether or not this bigotry is acceptable, not about it being an issue of public concern as if there are two right answers.
We have to win the morality war before we’ll win equality. We have to have it be as horrible to speak against us as it is jews or blacks.
Its not and that is what we need to work on. If they were protesting jews I bet this judge would have used different language than “issue of public concern”.
Language matters.
Hateful as Phelps is, the decision is correct.
Let’s not forget: free speech is for everyone, even the idiots. If we allow the courts to shut them up just because they are idiotic or offensive, when the courts swing conservative they have precedent to shut us up. For example, when we picket churches or conservative venues sign show up that may be deemed hurtful or offensive to others. We’re not talking about violent rhetoric, like the KKK used. So, let them have their say. They just look stupid and ignorant.
Well, I have to honestly say, while I don’t necessarily like the message, it should certainly be protected. They are crass SOB’s. But the right to be crass is not denied under the US Constitution.
Obviously, the three judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is comprised of IDIOTS!
Ho hum. They can show up with signs intended to hurt people just as easily as I can show up with a paintball gun. After all, their precious signs are essentially targets.
Seriously surprised someone hasn’t tossed a couple grenades into their “compound” yet. They’re only asking for it if they tic off the wrong veteran. Lets not forget: They already lost an 11 million dollar lawsuit and there are other judges out there, plus plenty of people wanting to see these characters fall, and fall hard…karma will get em.
WTF