Snyder v Phelps: A Free Speech Case
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May 25, 2010 Posted by Brianna Jones
Guest blog by Ken McCauley, Vice Chair of the Laramie County Democratic Party
The US Supreme Court will soon address the case of Snyder v Phelps.
The case centers on the Rev. Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. In Snyder v. Phelps, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an award of damages granted by a lower court, which awarded damages to the father of a US Marine killed in Iraq (for intrusion and intentional infliction of emotional distress).
The Rev. Phelps, and his church, frequently picket funeral processions and publish printed and on-line literature displaying anti-government, anti-gay, and what many offensive messages. In overturning the award of damages, the Court of Appeals focused on the First Amendment.
Rev. Phelps argues that the First Amendment protects his actions (Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]; or abridging the freedom of speech). In this case, he and the other protesters did honor local restrictions as to where they picketed, and the father of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder never saw the protesters until after the funeral when he viewed it on television.
The Court of Appeals essentially stated that the jury should not be allowed to determine what speech is protected under the Free Speech Clause – this is a determination for the court, not the jury. The Court of Appeals said that the protest signs and the literature his group publishes are protected under the First Amendment. The court said, “as utterly distasteful as these signs are, they involve matters of public concern, including the issue of homosexuals in the military, the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, and the political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens.” The court went on to state that the signs “do not assert provable facts about an individual, and they clearly contain imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric intended to spark debate.”
The US Supreme Court is taking up the case. “The Fourth Circuit's decision gives no credence to Snyder's personal stake in honoring and mourning his son and ignores Snyder's right to bury his son with dignity and respect.”
Most states have laws providing “breathing room” from protestors during funerals. Wyoming, in 2007, adopted a bill that prohibits protesting/picketing within 300 of a cemetery, funeral home, or church or building where a funeral or memorial service is being conducted. It further states that such protests cannot be conducted 1 hour prior to, during, or 1 hour after the service. No one in the House or Senate voted to oppose the legislation.
This case has received a great deal of media coverage. Interestingly enough, it’s a case where Bill O’Reilly, Anne Coulter, and Glenn Beck actually agree with Michael Moore!
The questions I’d like to pose for debate are:
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Do the restrictions imposed by Wyoming law constitute an abridgment of the freedom of speech?
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Does the Freedom of Speech tenet of the First Amendment trump the Freedom of Religion and Peaceful Assembly tenets of the same amendment?
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How do you think the individual members of the US Supreme Court will rule on this issue?
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