WASHINGTON — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006 filed a brief May 24 with the Supreme Court arguing that the free-speech rights of a church that picketed his son’s funeral should not trump his family’s right to mourn in private.
Lawyers for Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., argued that a lower court erred in ruling that protests by Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. — a small congregation notorious for showing up at military funerals carrying placards with messages like “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” — are absolutely protected by the First Amendment.
Snyder originally won a $10.9 million judgment against the church in 2007 for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion and conspiracy. A court later reduced it to $5 million. The Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voided that judgment in 2009, however, finding that the controversial signs were not statements of fact but “rhetorical hyperbole” protected by the First Amendment.
Snyder argued in the Supreme Court brief that such a broad ruling “completely vitiates” state laws that allow private citizens to receive damages for emotional distress. The Supreme Court accepted the case, Snyder v. Phelps, in March. It is expected to be one of the most-watched cases in the court’s 2010–2011 term, testing the limits of free speech and the right to privacy.
Westboro Baptist Church is an independent congregation not affiliated with any denomination. Most of its members are relatives of Pastor Fred Phelps, who started the church in 1955.
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