Protest at Soldier's Funeral May Cost Church $10.9 Million
A Topeka, Kansas-based fundamentalist Christian group, The Westboro Baptist Church, founded by Fred W. Phelps Sr. has lost a personal injury lawsuit brought against it for a protest at a military funeral. The church has been ordered to pay the family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq $10.9 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder sued the Westboro Baptist Church, Phelps and two of his daughters because a group of people from the church showed up at Matthew Snyder's military funeral and protested by waving signs displaying offensive anti-gay messages.
A federal jury in Baltimore, Maryland decided that the group from the church invaded the family's privacy by staging their protest at the funeral and awarded Albert Snyder, Matthew's father, $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages.
Matthew Snyder was not gay. The Westboro church has routinely showed up at military funerals around the country to picket and protest with their anti-gay propaganda. They often create shocking and offensive signage depicting gay sex and messages such as, "Thank God for dead soldiers."; The group believes that the deaths of soldiers in Iraq are punishment from God because of gays in the military.
Albert Snyder was relieved by the verdict against the Westboro church. He says that the lawsuit was never about money, but was about putting a stop to the Westboro church funeral protests.Matthew Snyder was killed in Iraq during March 2006. At his military funeral, seven people from Westboro church showed up and waved anti-gay signs. Albert Snyder says that he is happy that the verdict against them will make it harder for them to do the same thing to any other grieving families.
The lawyer for Fred W. Phelps, Sr. and the Westboro church says that the award of $2.9 million in compensatory damages in almost three times the net worth of the church and the three members named in the lawsuit combined.
Phelps has said that he will immediately appeal the decision and the jury's award to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond, Virginia. Phelps believes that he will win on appeal and that the case will bring media attention to the Westboro church, which he thinks will be a wonderful opportunity for him.
In the case against the Westboro church, the jury found that the protesters at the funeral violated the Snyder family's right to privacy as they grieved over the Marine's death, and that the church members intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the family.
Albert Snyder's lawsuit against Westboro church stirred a debate about how much protection the First Amendment provides for these extreme types of speech. Although opinions are divided on the issues, some experts believe that the verdict in this case will be a major setback for broad free speech protection. Perhaps, but was the First Amendment really designed to protect hate-filled tirades aimed at families in mourning? Where does free speech cross the line and become invasion of privacy or harassment? That was the issue up for debate in this case. The jury in this case believed that the actions of the members of the Westboro church at Matthew Snyder's funeral were not a form of protected speech. The jurors found that these protesters crossed the line.
It is true that the First Amendment provides the right to free speech, but that right is not unlimited in all circumstances. Could the Westboro funeral protests fall into the came category as yelling "fire" inside a theater or talking about a bomb in your bag at the airport?
Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor, said "I think when speech is a matter of public concern it still has to be protected, even when by social standards it is extraordinarily rude and outrageous."
Mark Graber, a law professor at the University of Maryland said, "This was in a public space. While the actions are reprehensible, the First Amendment protects a lot that's reprehensible." Graber has said that the $8 million award for punitive damages in this case could have a big implications on the right to free speech.
Phelps and his two daughters believe that it was their religious beliefs that were put on trial in Baltimore. They offer no apologies for their actions, and if given half a chance, they will certainly travel to other funerals to protest.
Members of the Westboro church have traveled around the country to military funerals for years now, spreading their message that homosexuals are immoral and damned.
The church has 75 members, who are mostly members of Phelps's family. They blame disasters, disease and events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina on the actions of people who are immoral and go against the laws of the Bible.
As a result of the many funeral protests by the Westboro church members, at least 22 states have proposed or passed legislation to limit what protestors can do at funerals. After the protest at Matthew Snyder's funeral, the state of Maryland passed a law prohibiting targeted picketing within 300 feet of a funeral, burial, memorial service or funeral procession.
The jury found that at Matthew Snyder's funeral that the actions of the Westboro church members were "highly offensive to a reasonable person" and that the protesters' conduct was "intentional or reckless." They also decided that the church acted in an "extreme and outrageous"; manner which led to severe emotional distress for the Snyder family.
Lawyers on both sides of this case say that they are prepared for the appeals process.