Westboro Baptist Church in the court once again over hate dialog

These days, seems like that almost no Marine memorial is safe from the allegedly faith-based protests of Fred Phelps and the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Now the Supreme Court is getting involved, accounts The Baltimore Sun. Soon, the Court will rule whether or not the Westboro Baptist Church is going too far in their protests, crossing over into hate speech territory. Furthermore, the Court will rule whether or not the family of a dead Iraq War Marine whose memorial was protested by the church is entitled to huge amount of money previously awarded to them by a Baltimore federal court, however later rescinded by an appeals court.

Hate dialog is what the Westboro Baptist Church’s action is labeled

Albert Snyder, father of deceased soldier, said he caught the Westboro Baptist Church protesters on TV after the funeral on March 3, 2006 where he didn’t actually see them. The Westboro flock had been gathered outside St. John’s Roman Catholic Church in Westminster, Md., during the memorial, with such signs as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and others that assaulted homosexuality. The Marine served for a “permissive” govt which is what the attack was all about. Fred Phelps’ daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, maintains a website that the Westboro Baptist Church utilizes to attack the Catholic faith, the Marine who passed away and his family, reports the Sun.

Westboro gets prosecuted. Suit about emotional distress and invasion of privacy

Snyder sued Westboro Baptist Church because of intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. The actions that Westboro committed were found to be very inappropriate by the Baltimore judge. The jury entirely agreed with the judge. The award was only $5 million rather than the $11 million that was requested. The Baltimore verdict was totally changed in 2009 by the United States of America Circuit Court of Appeals. It said that freedom of dialog protected the Westboro Baptist Church’s messages.

The Albert Snyder appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court. Oral arguments are being heard today. Whether or not a “private figure” can sue as a “target of hateful speech” is the question really. The decision can be made soon.

Articles cited

The Baltimore Sun

baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-snyder-arguments-20101006,,5927085.story