Legal Woes For Westboro Baptist Church

[dr. what]

Father of slain Marine wins case against funeral protesters

The brokenhearted father of a Marine killed in Iraq won a long-shot legal fight today after a federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against members of a Kansas church who hoisted anti-gay placards at his son's Westminster funeral.

The jury's announcement 24 hours after deliberations first began was met with tears and hugs from the family and supporters of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, whose March 2006 funeral was protested by members of the Westboro Baptist Church with signs including "Thank God for dead soldiers."

Snyder's father, Albert, won on every count of his complaint, as well as $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.

Over the past week, the civil trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore turned into a constitutional debate over how far the First Amendment should extend to protect the most extreme forms of expression. The groundbreaking verdict is believed to be the first time the fundamental Christian church from Topeka that is composed mainly of family members has been successfully sued for its shock funeral protests.

One legal expert worried that the initial size of the compensatory judgment, which was awarded first, could be a setback for those who believe in broad free-speech protections.

"The award -- $2.9 million -- is an awful lot of money for compensatory damages," University of Maryland law professor Mark Graber said today. "This was in a public space. While the actions are reprehensible, the First Amendment protects a lot that's reprehensible."

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett, who had sealed the church's financial documents, said from the bench that the compensatory damage award would already eclipse Westboro's assets.

A decision in the free speech case was closely watched after Westboro members criss-crossed the country in recent years, turning somber funerals of soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan into attention-grabbing platforms to criticize gays as immoral and damned.

Carrying brightly colored signs with inflammatory messages at reportedly more than 30,000 protests, including hundreds of military funerals, members of the congregation say the nation is losing soldiers on the battlefield because the country has been too accepting of gays in every part of American society, including in the military.

Counter-protests often follow and groups like the Patriot Guard have cropped up to try to shield families from the church's controversial signs and songs.

Alarmed by Westboro protests, at least 22 states enacted or proposed laws to limit the rights of protesters at funerals. Only months after Matthew Snyder's death, Maryland passed a law prohibiting people from picketing within 100 feet of a funeral, memorial, burial or procession.

The courtroom fight came down to whether Westboro had a legal right to demonstrate at the March 2006 funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder or whether the protesters crossed the line because their message impugned the grieving family's reputation and unlawfully invaded the Snyders' privacy.

The Marine's father from York, Pa., sued the church and three of its members for intentionally invading his privacy because his deceased son did not have that right any longer. For the claim to be successful, the jury needed to conclude that the church's actions at the funeral -- and later, in a posting about Matthew Snyder on its Web site -- were "highly offensive to a reasonable person," according to the jury instructions.

Albert Snyder also claimed that the church's actions were an intentional infliction of emotional distress. Under the law, the five women and four women of the jury needed to find that the church's conduct was "intentional or reckless" to find for Snyder. Jury instructions also required that the conduct be "extreme and outrageous," leading to severe emotional distress.

"You must balance the defendants' expression of religious belief with another citizen's right to privacy," presiding judge Richard D. Bennett instructed jurors yesterday.

The weeklong trial brought together Snyder and his family and the progeny of Fred Phelps Sr., a retired attorney and founder of Westboro whose 71-member congregation is largely made up of his relatives. The suit names the church as defendants, as well as Phelps and his two daughters.

In the courtroom, the Phelps family dressed plainly. In testimony, they stood steadfast to their beliefs and did not apologize for their conduct.

Often overcome by emotion, Albert Snyder sat flanked by his attorneys. While the Westboro's attorney, Jonathan Katz, spoke, Snyder averted his eyes. But when the videos made of the protest at his son's funeral aired for the jury in closing arguments, he wept.

When called to the stand last week, the father railed against Westboro, saying that sight of the protest made him physically ill.

"They turned this funeral into a media circus, and they wanted to hurt my family," Snyder testified, according to the Associated Press. "They wanted their message heard, and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

Fred Phelps took the stand after Snyder and prompted a strong admonition from Bennett when the pastor said he had not considered whether children would see a sign carried by protesters with the words "Semper Fi Fags" and two stick figures that appeared to be engaged in sodomy, according to the AP.

Church members always insisted that their March 10, 2006, demonstration took place legally, 1,000 feet from St. John Roman Catholic Church where the funeral was held. In closing arguments, the two sides battled over the nature of the protest to determine if the speech was constitutionally protected.

Sean E. Summers, Snyder's attorney, pointed out that Westboro members personally targeted the family because they brought Marine-specific signs to their rally at the funeral and dredged up Snyder's marital history on their Web site in an essay, "The Burden of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder."

But Katz argued that the protest was no different from the thousands of others taken up by Westboro. Nothing about their demonstration was so offensive or damaging, the defense attorney said, to rise to the level of a libelous attack on the family.

Past protests by Westboro have produced so much negative reaction that they routinely alert local police departments of their plans so police can provide additional security. The defendants staged another protest on Pratt Street near the U.S. District courthouse at lunchtime today before the verdict was announced.

What sometimes took a back seat in the federal free speech trial was the life and death of Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, a 2003 Westminster High School graduate. Synder, a victim of a vehicle accident in Anbar province in March 2006, had been in the war zone less than a month.

Snyder's sexual preference never became an issue at the trial. Church members said they did not target Snyder's funeral because they believed the Marine was gay.

Instead, they said they waved fire-and-brimstone placards -- "Thank God for IEDs" and "Fag Troops" among others -- near the funeral motorcade to bring attention to their message.

Snyder testified that he never saw the content of the signs as he entered and left St. John's Roman Catholic Church on the day of his son's funeral. He glimpsed the signs for the first time during television news reports later that day. A Google search on the Internet weeks later led him to the church's Web site and the posting about Matthew Snyder.

[Ryan Thunder]

Fuckers got what they deserved. They have no right to complain.

[Drewcifer]

From the Reuters article about this:

Defense attorney Jonathan Katz urged jurors not to award punitive damages because the $2.9 million in compensatory damages was already three times the defendants' net worth.

"It's enough already to bankrupt them and financially destroy them," Katz said.

Apparently, the church's assets only come to roughly $1 million, so let's hope this case isn't overturned on appeal.

For anyone who is interested, local tv news coverage of this case is available here.

[Flagg]

I'm not sure how this managed to get to trial, to be honest. I'm all about raping these fucker financially, I just don't know how legal this was...

[Haminal10]

Good riddance to bad rubbish. I hope they are forced to sell their "church", and the dad burns it down.

[Superman]

I'm not sure how this managed to get to trial, to be honest. I'm all about raping these fucker financially, I just don't know how legal this was...

Almost anything is legal when it comes to a civil case. You just need to "prove" you were somehow harmed by the actions of someone else to a jury, and I can't see anyone siding with these Westboro shitheads.

[Invictus ChiKen]

Well darn there went my dream of picketing that church when Phelps died... and then pissing on his grave.

Ah well... SUCK IT FUCKERS SUCK IT LONG AND HARD!

This made my Halloween ^.^

[Drewcifer]

I'm not sure how this managed to get to trial, to be honest. I'm all about raping these fucker financially, I just don't know how legal this was...

Almost anything is legal when it comes to a civil case. You just need to "prove" you were somehow harmed by the actions of someone else to a jury, and I can't see anyone siding with these Westboro shitheads.

One article I read worded it as "jurors found the church and its leaders liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress". I think the key here is the 'intent to harm' bit, but Stravo could explain it better.

[SCRawl]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of assholes. I mean, really, I wouldn't have cared if took planting heroin in their carry-on bags in order to shut these guys up, as long as it happened sooner rather than later.

[Sidewinder]

The members of the church should consider themselves lucky that angry veterans didn't just shoot, stab, punch, or kick them for being assholes at a deceased service member's funeral.

[Enforcer Talen]

We got briefed on them a couple times.

[Sidewinder]

We got briefed on them a couple times.

You serve in the US military? What branch are/were you in?

[Aaron]

What the Warwolves sig containing the Marine Corps emblem doesn't tell you?

[Drewcifer]

The members of the church should consider themselves lucky that angry veterans didn't just shoot, stab, punch, or kick them for being assholes at a deceased service member's funeral.

Most vets have something that the Phelps clan knows nothing about -- honor.



Those guys are from the group Patriot Guard Riders, a group that started off as a bunch of biker vets in Kansas that went to funerals to shield familes from the Phelps clan -- often literally, with flags and bikes. In 2 short years, they've grown from a few hundred folks to having something like over 100,000 members nationwide.

From their mission statement:

We don’t care what you ride or if you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a hawk or a dove. It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where you’re from or what your income is; you don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect.

Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.

1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.

2. Shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

[Enforcer Talen]

We got briefed on them a couple times.

You serve in the US military? What branch are/were you in?

USMC reserves, out from Boston.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Hopefully it will come out just like that klan branch where the SPLC got all their assets. including the name

[Flagg]

I'm not sure how this managed to get to trial, to be honest. I'm all about raping these fucker financially, I just don't know how legal this was...

Almost anything is legal when it comes to a civil case. You just need to "prove" you were somehow harmed by the actions of someone else to a jury, and I can't see anyone siding with these Westboro shitheads.

One article I read worded it as "jurors found the church and its leaders liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress". I think the key here is the 'intent to harm' bit, but Stravo could explain it better.

I have a hard time believing that for the last 15+ years none of the families of AIDS victims whose funerals were demonstrated at by the same group never tried to sue them.

[Adrian Laguna]

What the Warwolves sig containing the Marine Corps emblem doesn't tell you?

After reading your post, went back to the man's banner and stated at it for a few seconds. Not finding it, I scrolled down, and scrolled back up and looked at it again. Then I saw the emblem. I tell you, the thing's cunningly camouflaged for those who don't know it's there. Like Marine Recon troops or something.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

And now they're saying <Dr Evil>Eleven Million Dollars!</Dr. Evil>

$11M verdict in funeral protesters case
By ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press Writer
Westboro Baptist church member Gabriel Phelps-Roper, 10, and his sister Grace Phelps-Roper, 13, both of Topeka, Kan., protest at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder in Westminster, Md. in this March 10, 2006, file photo.
Dylan Slagle
Westboro Baptist church member Gabriel Phelps-Roper, 10, and his sister Grace Phelps-Roper, 13, both of Topeka, Kan., protest at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder in Westminster, Md. in this March 10, 2006, file photo.

Members of a fundamentalist Kansas church ordered to pay nearly $11 million in damages to a grieving father smiled as they walked out of the courtroom, vowing that the verdict would not deter them from protesting at military funerals.

Members promised to picket future funerals with placards bearing such slogans as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."

"Absolutely, don't you understand this was an act in futility?" said Shirley Phelps-Roper, whose father founded the Westboro Baptist Church.

The group believes that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. They say they are entitled to protest at funerals under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.

Albert Snyder sued the Topeka, Kan., church after a protest last year at the funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. He claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.

A jury agreed. On Wednesday, the church and three of its leaders - Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis - were found liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress. Jurors awarded Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages.

Snyder, of York, Pa., said he hoped other families would consider suing.

"The goal wasn't about the money, it was to set a precedent so other people could do the same thing," he said.

Appearing on NBC's "Today" show Thursday, Sndyer said that while his son was fighting for freedom for Iraqis, "my son did not fight for hate speech.

"And that's basically what it is," he said of the church's protest. "Everybody's under the impression that the First Amendment gives them the right to do anything, say anything any where, any time. And along with the First Amendment also comes responsibility."

Snyder said that on the day of the funeral, he didn't see the protesters or their signs, only the tops of the signs. "But a lot of people at the church did see it," he said. "And it was splattered all over the newspapers the next day."

It's unclear whether Snyder will be able to collect the damages.

The assets of the church and the defendants are less than a million dollars, mainly in homes, cars and retirement accounts, defense attorney Jonathan Katz said. The church has about 75 members and is funded by tithing.

Craig Trebilcock, one of Snyder's lawyers, had asked jurors to question the truthfulness of the defendants' financial documents, one of which show Phelps-Davis having only $306 in the bank. He noted that Phelps-Davis is a practicing attorney, who could afford to travel to spread the church's message.

"Rebekah Phelps-Davis has $306? She must be using Priceline.com. It doesn't make any sense," Trebilcock said.

The attorney had urged jurors to award damages that would send a message to the church: "Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again."

Trebilcock later called the verdict "Judgment Day for the Westboro Baptist Church."

"They're always talking about other people's Judgment Day. Well, this is theirs," he said.

Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict, while members of the church greeted the news with tightlipped smiles.

They are confident the award will be overturned on appeal, Phelps said.

"Oh, it will take about five minutes to get that thing reversed," he said.

Another of Snyder's attorneys, Sean Summers, said he would tirelessly seek payment of the award. "We will chase them forever if it takes that long," he said.

A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. Snyder's lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

I LOVE THE FEEL OF SCHADENFREUDE IN THE MORNING!!

[Molyneux]

And now they're saying <Dr Evil>Eleven Million Dollars!</Dr. Evil>

*snip article*

I LOVE THE FEEL OF SCHADENFREUDE IN THE MORNING!!

Against almost anyone else, I'd feel sorry for them, but the Westboro Baptists...they've just plain earned this. Guess they finally slipped up with their tap-dancing on the line between freedom of speech and actionable speech.

[Drewcifer]

I have a hard time believing that for the last 15+ years none of the families of AIDS victims whose funerals were demonstrated at by the same group never tried to sue them.

It seems odd to me too that no one has tried this approach before. I'm no lawyer, but it probably has something to do with the perception that the First Amendment is an insurmountable obstacle. Too, the Phelps clan are known for filing frivolous lawsuits in retaliation, and several of the church members are lawyers, making it a hard sell to get someone to attack them through the courts.

[Flagg]

I have a hard time believing that for the last 15+ years none of the families of AIDS victims whose funerals were demonstrated at by the same group never tried to sue them.

It seems odd to me too that no one has tried this approach before. I'm no lawyer, but it probably has something to do with the perception that the First Amendment is an insurmountable obstacle. Too, the Phelps clan are known for filing frivolous lawsuits in retaliation, and several of the church members are lawyers, making it a hard sell to get someone to attack them through the courts.

I'd imagine they have been sued before and the cases were thrown out before trial on first amendment grounds. I could be totally wrong here, and I hope that I am, but I think the fact that they did this shit at a soldiers funeral (as opposed to an AIDS victims) is the only reason this trial was allowed to take place.

[Mayabird]

They have been sued before multiple times, but Fred Phelps made most of his kids (and he had a lot of them - only a few escaped his mind-control hate cult later, because Pappy Phelps was also a child abuser among other things) become lawyers like him, since he got disbarred for too many frivolous lawsuits and a bunch of legalese that amounts to him being an asshat.

For that matter, people HAVE physically attacked them before, and they sued the hell out of everyone involved. I don't remember if they won or not, but it's happened many, many times. And they love it. They thrive on their persecution complex. The more attention they get, all of it negative of course, the more solidly they entrench their positions.

I do wonder if they actually will be bankrupted, though. I'm guessing that most of their funds are tied up in their church, which is technically a nonprofit religious organization, and I don't know how laws for suing churches work on collecting.

[Darth Wong]

I hate it when these fuckers invoke the First Amendment in cases like this. The First Amendment means that the government can't put you in jail for expressing yourself. It doesn't mean that a pissed-off neighbour can't sue you for emotional abuse.

[Darth Servo]

Glad to hear the tide is turning on these assholes. May they languish in bankruptcy for many years to come.