WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide on the outer limits of free-speech protection for public protests and to rule on whether a dead soldier’s family can sue fringe religious protesters who picketed near their son’s funeral with signs saying, “Thank God for dead soldiers.”
A Maryland jury awarded $10 million in damages to Albert Snyder, whose son Matthew was killed in Iraq in March 2006. He had sued Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., who has traveled the country for 20 years leading protests at funerals for American soldiers.
He claims God hates America because of its tolerance of homosexuality. He and his small group of followers carried protest signs at the funeral in Westminster, Md., that said, “Fag troops,” “God hates the USA” and “God hates fags.” But a lawyer for Phelps said his protests were not targeted at Lance Corp. Matthew Snyder, the soldier, but more generally at America and the U.S. military.
The protesters were kept at a distance from the church and the burial service. Nonetheless, the jury awarded damages to the Snyder family on the grounds that the funeral protests invaded their privacy and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.
In September, however, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the entire award on free-speech grounds. “Notwithstanding the distasteful and repugnant nature of the words being challenged in these proceedings, we are constrained to conclude that the defendants’ signs are constitutionally protected,” the appeals court said.
Snyder’s family appealed to the Supreme Court, saying the protests had “tarnished” their son’s funeral. “Matthew deserved better. A civilized society deserved better,” they said.
The court announced it had voted to hear the appeal in Snyder vs. Phelps and to rule on whether the right to free speech extended to the right to intrude on a solemn ceremony. The justices will hear arguments in the case in the fall.
Other Supreme Court action
• Prison policy: The court decided it will not tinker with a federal prison policy that prohibits death-row inmates from giving face-to-face interviews to reporters.
• Vaccine claims: The court accepted a case brought by parents who want to sue drug companies over vaccines that they claim caused serious health problems for their children. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had said a federal law bars their claims.
• Security checks: The court agreed to referee a dispute between NASA and some of its independent contractors over required security checks, a decision that could affect how the federal government investigates the backgrounds of current and future employees. The workers claim the checks are an invasion of privacy.
• Bankruptcy filings: The court upheld a law that bars lawyers from advising clients who are planning to seek bankruptcy protection about using their planned filing as an opportunity to incur more debt.
