Suit OK'd against anti-gay group (Fred Phelps Westboro Baptist)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Baltimore Sun

The father claimed protesters destroyed his only chance to bury in peace the son he lost in Iraq. The picketers who carried signs with such messages as "Thank God for dead soldiers" countered they were only trying to oppose gays in the military.

After the two sides presented legal arguments in a Baltimore courtroom yesterday, a federal judge offered a split decision. He ruled that a more limited lawsuit brought by Albert Snyder, the father of the slain Marine whose funeral was targeted by the Kansas-based anti-gay group, can proceed to trial next week.

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In granting part of the defendants' motion for summary judgment, Bennett found church members did not defame Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder or his family by implying that he was gay or raised by adulterers because his parents divorced. Nor did the church members invade the family's privacy, the judge ruled, because their anti-gay and anti-divorce accusations were based on a general expression of the church members' fundamentalist beliefs.

At the civil trial set to begin Monday in federal court, the jury will be able to consider whether Westboro Baptist Church is liable for an intentional infliction of emotional distress based on the message from its members' signs, Bennett said. The judge also will allow jurors to decide whether the Snyder family's expectation of privacy at Matthew Snyder's funeral was violated by the church members' protest outside St. John Roman Catholic Church in Westminster.



Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-md.funeral16oct16,0,1389208.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout

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Hope you win Mr. Snyder! Good luck against these cretins.

[ChickMagic]

1. Turnabout is definitely fair play

Westboro is famous for filing lawsuits against
anyone who impedes their first amendment rights
(according to them).They agitate and when someone
reacts negatively, they sue.

I hope this guy takes them for everything they've
got.

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. When Phelch dies, expect a MASSIVE turnout at his funeral

I, for one, have every intention of carrying a gigantic sign that reads "FRED PHELPS BURNS IN HELL -- GOD HATES BIGOTS" on one side and "TURN AROUND IS FAIR PLAY; THANKS FOR THE PRECEDENT" on the other.

[ChickMagic]

13. That's a great idea

It may not be too long by the looks of that savage.
I hope I can join you there.

[MuseRider]

14. I will gladly

offer my home for all who come. We can party! This is one guy who I will speak ill of after he is dead.

[SteppingRazor]

2. Hmmm....

There's actually some legitimate questions raised here about the expectation of privacy in a fairly public setting and the issue of free speech versus the infliction of emotional distress.

Of course, the emotional side of me wants to immediately side with the Snyders and see these batshit-crazy Jesus freaks finally get their comeuppance. But, setting aside any and all emotional responses, there are actual issues to consider here, and I'm not really sure where I stand.

Sure, this clearly inflicts emotional distress on the family. I mean, I think any reasonable person would have to accede that. But does that supplant the right of these nutters to say what they want? And if so, where do you draw the line? When does free speech trump emotional distress?

And does someone have a reasonable expectation of privacy at a public place (a church) during a private service? My first instinct is to say yes, but I'm fairly sure this question has already been answered several times over in previous suits, given the intrusive nature of the times we live in.

[RamboLiberal]

4. Judge has already thrown out those issues of the case

he considers first amendment. I'm comfortable in this case to leave it up to fair jurisprudence.

[SteppingRazor]

5. OK, I see after reading the whole article that they ruled it was protected speech.

So it's just a question of whether that speech inflicted emotional distress. And, of course, there's still the question of the right to privacy, which as I said earlier, has probably already been answered one way or another.

[Ilsa]

6. You can bet if it was Cheney's funeral and we protested, saying

he was a traitor, etc, on big posters, etc, they'd have us all charged with as many items as they could find, free speech be damned.

[SteppingRazor]

7. But we'd have an even better chance of getting off...

since Cheney's a public figure.

[Turbineguy]

17. I don't understand this.

The Constitution (including the Bill of Rights) defines the relationship between ordinary citizens and the government. So how can picketing a funeral of an ordinary citizen (no matter what the message) be protected under the First Amendment? Phelps has his view (which he's entitled to) and picks soldiers' funerals as a vehicle for expressing them. If Phelps wants to picket, he can stand outside the Pentagon or the Capitol.

[SteppingRazor]

18. You mean sort of like establishing "First Amendment Zones" for anti-war protestors?

Understand, I'm just doing devil's advocacy here. I'm as disgusted by Phelps as anyone else.

[Turbineguy]

20. Not really

I'm suggesting that people who do this sort of thing (harming other people) can be held to account without being able to hide behind the First Amendment. There's a difference between walking down the street and holding a sign (that I don't happen to like) and taking up stations in front of my house with that sign.

[Richard Steele]

3. These hateful cultists need to be BURIED by such lawsuits everytime they crawl out of their hole.

Good Luck Mr. Snyder! :thumbsup:

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. "... an intentional infliction of emotional distress...."

I don't like the Phelpses either, but what kind of a crime is that?

[kestrel91316]

10. It is not a crime. No one has said it was. It is a TORT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort
A tort is a civil wrong that is grounds for a private party to bring suit. Punishment is monetary and/or a court order to correct some action, IIRC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime
A crime is a violation of criminal law and is prosecutable by the state, and punishment is loss of freedom (jail/prison/probation) and/or monetary.

[NI4NI]

11. I'm surprised no mention of ACLU involvement, yet

Maybe the Westboro Whackos don't want any ACLU involvement on their behalf, but the ACLU can file a lawsuit on their own; Right?

[Charlie Brown]

16. these are civil suits brought by individuals at the funeral

The ACLU is only challenging the protest-bans passed by the state and fed. government. Not a free-speech issue, so I hope the Snyders take the Westboro crowd to the cleaners.

[zbdent]

12. Has the Sun tried to paint Phelps as a lefty in this case?

I mean, "all" anti-war protestors are liberals, right? :eyes:

[RamboLiberal]

15. No - they are portraying it as an anti-gay protest n/t

[noonwitch]

19. Is there some kind of organization for gay vets? They should attend Sunday Services

at Westboro. It could be fun.