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craigepo · 03-31-2010, 17:30

Kind of interesting that an appellate court threw out a $5 million award against this church. Also interesting issues that the Supreme Court is going to hear.

Snyder v. Phelps
Case Information
General Information about the case
Docket Number
09-751
Date Granted
03/08/2010
Appealed From
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitAttorneys
Attorney information for this case
Attorneys for Petitioner:
Sean E. Summers
Barley Snyder LLC
(717) 846-8888
Counsel of Record
100 East Market Street
P.O. Box 15012
York, PA 17405-7012
Party name: Albert Snyder

Attorneys for Respondents:
Margie J. Phelps
3734 SW 12th Street
(785) 408-4598
Counsel of Record
Topeka, KS 66604
Party name: Fred W. Phelps, Sr., et al.
Court takes funeral protest case (March 8, 2010)
Case Reference:
Snyder v. Phelps
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the First Amendment protects picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in combat.

The case concerns a lawsuit filed by the family of a Marine, Matthew Snyder, after members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed his funeral.

The family accused the Westboro Baptist Church and its founders of defamation, invasion of privacy and the intentional infliction of emotional distress for displaying signs that said, "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Fag troops" at Snyder's funeral.

U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett awarded the family $5 million in damages, but a three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the judgment violated the First Amendment's protections on religious expression. The church members' speech is protected, "notwithstanding the distasteful and repugnant nature of the words," according to the court.

On March 8, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

Question presented: (1) Whether the prohibition of awarding damages to public figures to compensate for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, under the Supreme Court’s First Amendment precedents, applies to a case involving two private persons regarding a private matter; (2) whether the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment trumps its freedom of religion and peaceful assembly; and (3) whether an individual attending a family member’s funeral constitutes a “captive audience” who is entitled to state protection from unwanted communication

http://onthedocket.org/cases/2009/snyder-v-phelps

03-31-2010, 17:30	#10
craigepo Quiet Professional Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Southern Mo Posts: 1,541	Kind of interesting that an appellate court threw out a $5 million award against this church. Also interesting issues that the Supreme Court is going to hear. Snyder v. Phelps Case Information General Information about the case Docket Number 09-751 Date Granted 03/08/2010 Appealed From United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitAttorneys Attorney information for this case Attorneys for Petitioner: Sean E. Summers Barley Snyder LLC (717) 846-8888 Counsel of Record 100 East Market Street P.O. Box 15012 York, PA 17405-7012 Party name: Albert Snyder Attorneys for Respondents: Margie J. Phelps 3734 SW 12th Street (785) 408-4598 Counsel of Record Topeka, KS 66604 Party name: Fred W. Phelps, Sr., et al. Court takes funeral protest case (March 8, 2010) Case Reference: Snyder v. Phelps The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the First Amendment protects picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in combat. The case concerns a lawsuit filed by the family of a Marine, Matthew Snyder, after members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed his funeral. The family accused the Westboro Baptist Church and its founders of defamation, invasion of privacy and the intentional infliction of emotional distress for displaying signs that said, "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Fag troops" at Snyder's funeral. U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett awarded the family $5 million in damages, but a three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the judgment violated the First Amendment's protections on religious expression. The church members' speech is protected, "notwithstanding the distasteful and repugnant nature of the words," according to the court. On March 8, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Question presented: (1) Whether the prohibition of awarding damages to public figures to compensate for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, under the Supreme Court’s First Amendment precedents, applies to a case involving two private persons regarding a private matter; (2) whether the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment trumps its freedom of religion and peaceful assembly; and (3) whether an individual attending a family member’s funeral constitutes a “captive audience” who is entitled to state protection from unwanted communication http://onthedocket.org/cases/2009/snyder-v-phelps __________________ "And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods?" Thomas Babington Macaulay "One man with courage makes a majority." Andrew Jackson "Well Mr. Carpetbagger. We got something in this territory called the Missouri boat ride." Josey Wales
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