Snyder v. Phelps
Encyclopedia
Snyder v. Phelps was a case heard by Supreme Court of the United States
on whether the First Amendment protected protests of public protestors at a funeral against tort liability. It involved a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress
made by Albert Snyder, the father of Matthew Snyder, a Marine who died in the Iraq War. The claim was made against the Phelps family, including Fred Phelps
, and against Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church
(WBC). The Court ruled in favor of Phelps in an 8-1 decision, holding that their speech related to a public issue, and was disseminated on a public sidewalk.
On March 10, 2006, Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of U.S. Marine
Lance Corporal
Matthew A. Snyder, who was killed in a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Iraq
on March 3, 2006. On March 8, WBC announced its intention of picketing the funeral in Westminister, Maryland, as it had done at thousands of other funerals throughout the country in protest of what they considered America's increasing tolerance of homosexuality
. Picketers displayed placards such as "America is doomed", "You're going to hell", "God hates you", "Fag troops", "Semper fi fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". Members of the Patriot Guard were present in support of the Snyder family. WBC published statements on its website that denounced Albert Snyder and his ex-wife for raising their son Catholic
, stating they "taught Matthew to defy his creator", "raised him for the devil" and "taught him that God was a liar".
Albert Snyder, Matthew Snyder's father, sued Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church and two of Phelps's daughters, Rebekah Phelps-Davis and Shirley Phelps-Roper
, for defamation, intrusion upon seclusion, publicity given to private life, intentional infliction of emotional distress
and civil conspiracy
. The claim of defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the WBC website was dismissed, on the grounds that the contents were "essentially Phelps-Roper's religious opinion and would not realistically tend to expose the Plaintiff to public hatred or scorn". The claim of publicity given to private life was similarly dismissed since no private information was made public by the Defendants: they learned that Snyder was divorced and his son was Catholic from the obituary in the newspaper. The case proceeded to trial on the remaining three counts.
The facts of the case were essentially undisputed at trial. Albert Snyder testified:
Snyder described his emotional injuries, including that he became tearful and angry and physically nauseated to the point that he would vomit. He stated that the Defendants had placed a "bug" in his head, so that he was unable to think of his son without thinking of their actions, adding, "I want so badly to remember all the good stuff and so far, I remember the good stuff, but it always turns into the bad". Snyder called several expert witnesses who testified that worsening of his diabetes
and severe depression
had resulted from the Defendants' activities.
In their defense, WBC established that they had complied with all local ordinances and had obeyed police instructions. The picket was held in a location cordoned off by the police, approximately 1000 feet from the church, from which it could be neither seen nor heard. Mr. Snyder testified that, although he glimpsed the tops of the signs from the funeral procession, he did not see their content until he watched a news program on television later that day. He also indicated that he had found the WBC's statements about his son on their webpage from a Google
search.
In his instructions to the jury, Judge Richard D. Bennett
for the District Court of Maryland
stated that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar
, offensive and shocking statements
, and that the jury must decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person
, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection." WBC unsuccessfully sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order
by the plaintiff's attorney. An appeal
was also sought by the WBC.
On October 31, 2007, the jury found for the Plaintiff and awarded Snyder's father in compensatory damages, later adding a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages
for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (a total of $10.9 million). The Phelps said the church would not change its message because of the verdict. On February 4, 2008, Bennett upheld the verdict but reduced the punitive damages from $8 million to $2.1 million, to take into consideration the resources of WBC. The total judgment then stood at $5 million. Court liens
were ordered on church buildings and Phelps's law office in an attempt to ensure that the damages were paid.
An appeal by WBC was heard on September 24, 2009. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
reversed the jury verdict and set aside the lower court's $5 million judgment. The Fourth Circuit ruled that the lower court had erred by instructing the jury to decide a question of law rather than fact (specifically, whether or not the speech in question was protected by the First Amendment). It also ruled that the protest signs and language on WBC's website were rhetorical hyperbole and figurative expression, rather than assertions of actual fact, and so were a form of protected speech. On March 30, 2010, the Court further ordered Albert Snyder to pay the court costs
for the defendants, an amount totaling $16,510. Political commentator Bill O'Reilly
agreed to cover the costs, pending appeal.
A writ of certiorari
was filed on March 8, 2010. Arguments were heard beginning on October 13, represented by three of Phelps' daughters, including Margie Phelps
Law professor Deana Pollard Sacks, who presented a historical analysis of cases and issues significant to this case that was published by the Yale Law Journal
, concluded:
in support of Phelps, including the American Civil Liberties Union
, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
, and twenty one other media organizations, including National Public Radio, Bloomberg L.P.
, the Associated Press
, the Newspaper Association of America
, and others.
Other briefs were filed in favor of Snyder as well, including one by Senate Majority and Minority Leaders
Harry Reid
and Mitch McConnell
, and forty other members of the United States Senate
,
a number of veterans groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars
and the American Legion
,
the John Marshall Veterans Legal Support Center and Clinic, and another by Kansas
, forty-seven other States and the District of Columbia
.
In an 8-1 decision (with the judges ruling the same way as they did in United States v. Stevens
in 2010), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phelps, upholding the Fourth Circuit's decision. Chief Justice John Roberts
(as in the Stevens case) wrote the majority opinion stating "What Westboro said, in the whole context of how and where it chose to say it, is entitled to 'special protection' under the First Amendment and that protection cannot be overcome by a jury finding that the picketing was outrageous".
The court's opinion also stated that the memorial service was not disturbed, saying, "Westboro stayed well away from the memorial service, Snyder could see no more than the tops of the picketers' signs, and there is no indication that the picketing interfered with the funeral service itself". The decision also declined to expand the "captive audience doctrine", saying that Snyder was not in a state where he was coerced to hear the negative speech.
Justice Stephen Breyer
wrote a concurring opinion, emphasizing his view that the decision related only to picketing, and did not take Westboro Baptist Church's on-line publications that attacked the Snyder family into consideration.
Justice Samuel Alito
, as in the Stevens case, was the lone dissenting justice in this case, beginning his dissent with, "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case". He concluded, "In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims like petitioner".
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
on whether the First Amendment protected protests of public protestors at a funeral against tort liability. It involved a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort claim of recent origin for intentional conduct that results in extreme emotional distress. Some courts and commentators have substituted mental for emotional, but the tort is the same...
made by Albert Snyder, the father of Matthew Snyder, a Marine who died in the Iraq War. The claim was made against the Phelps family, including Fred Phelps
Fred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
, and against Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
(WBC). The Court ruled in favor of Phelps in an 8-1 decision, holding that their speech related to a public issue, and was disseminated on a public sidewalk.
Background
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...
Matthew A. Snyder, who was killed in a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
on March 3, 2006. On March 8, WBC announced its intention of picketing the funeral in Westminister, Maryland, as it had done at thousands of other funerals throughout the country in protest of what they considered America's increasing tolerance of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Picketers displayed placards such as "America is doomed", "You're going to hell", "God hates you", "Fag troops", "Semper fi fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". Members of the Patriot Guard were present in support of the Snyder family. WBC published statements on its website that denounced Albert Snyder and his ex-wife for raising their son Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, stating they "taught Matthew to defy his creator", "raised him for the devil" and "taught him that God was a liar".
Albert Snyder, Matthew Snyder's father, sued Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church and two of Phelps's daughters, Rebekah Phelps-Davis and Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper is an American lawyer and political activist. She is best known as the spokesperson of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization known for its highly publicized public protests conducted under the slogan "God Hates...
, for defamation, intrusion upon seclusion, publicity given to private life, intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort claim of recent origin for intentional conduct that results in extreme emotional distress. Some courts and commentators have substituted mental for emotional, but the tort is the same...
and civil conspiracy
Conspiracy (civil)
A civil conspiracy or collusion is an agreement between two or more parties to deprive a third party of legal rights or deceive a third party to obtain an illegal objective....
. The claim of defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the WBC website was dismissed, on the grounds that the contents were "essentially Phelps-Roper's religious opinion and would not realistically tend to expose the Plaintiff to public hatred or scorn". The claim of publicity given to private life was similarly dismissed since no private information was made public by the Defendants: they learned that Snyder was divorced and his son was Catholic from the obituary in the newspaper. The case proceeded to trial on the remaining three counts.
The facts of the case were essentially undisputed at trial. Albert Snyder testified:
Snyder described his emotional injuries, including that he became tearful and angry and physically nauseated to the point that he would vomit. He stated that the Defendants had placed a "bug" in his head, so that he was unable to think of his son without thinking of their actions, adding, "I want so badly to remember all the good stuff and so far, I remember the good stuff, but it always turns into the bad". Snyder called several expert witnesses who testified that worsening of his diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
and severe depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
had resulted from the Defendants' activities.
In their defense, WBC established that they had complied with all local ordinances and had obeyed police instructions. The picket was held in a location cordoned off by the police, approximately 1000 feet from the church, from which it could be neither seen nor heard. Mr. Snyder testified that, although he glimpsed the tops of the signs from the funeral procession, he did not see their content until he watched a news program on television later that day. He also indicated that he had found the WBC's statements about his son on their webpage from a Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
search.
In his instructions to the jury, Judge Richard D. Bennett
Richard D. Bennett
Richard D. Bennett is a United States federal judge.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bennett received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969 and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1973. He was in the United States Army Reserve from 1969 to 1975, and in the Maryland...
for the District Court of Maryland
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland....
stated that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar
Vulgarity
Vulgarity is the quality of being common, coarse or unrefined. This judgement may refer to language, visual art, social classes or social climbers...
, offensive and shocking statements
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, and that the jury must decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person
Reasonable person
The reasonable person is a legal fiction of the common law that represents an objective standard against which any individual's conduct can be measured...
, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection." WBC unsuccessfully sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
by the plaintiff's attorney. An appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
was also sought by the WBC.
On October 31, 2007, the jury found for the Plaintiff and awarded Snyder's father in compensatory damages, later adding a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages
Punitive damages
Punitive damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit...
for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (a total of $10.9 million). The Phelps said the church would not change its message because of the verdict. On February 4, 2008, Bennett upheld the verdict but reduced the punitive damages from $8 million to $2.1 million, to take into consideration the resources of WBC. The total judgment then stood at $5 million. Court liens
Lien
In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...
were ordered on church buildings and Phelps's law office in an attempt to ensure that the damages were paid.
An appeal by WBC was heard on September 24, 2009. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
reversed the jury verdict and set aside the lower court's $5 million judgment. The Fourth Circuit ruled that the lower court had erred by instructing the jury to decide a question of law rather than fact (specifically, whether or not the speech in question was protected by the First Amendment). It also ruled that the protest signs and language on WBC's website were rhetorical hyperbole and figurative expression, rather than assertions of actual fact, and so were a form of protected speech. On March 30, 2010, the Court further ordered Albert Snyder to pay the court costs
Court costs
Court costs are the costs of handling a case, which, depending on legal rules, may or may not include the costs of the various parties in a lawsuit in addition to the costs of the court itself. Court costs can reach very high amounts, often far beyond the actual monetary worth of a case...
for the defendants, an amount totaling $16,510. Political commentator Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
agreed to cover the costs, pending appeal.
A writ of certiorari
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
was filed on March 8, 2010. Arguments were heard beginning on October 13, represented by three of Phelps' daughters, including Margie Phelps
Issues
The questions presented are as follows:- Whether the prohibition of awarding damages to public figures to compensate for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, under the Supreme Court’s First Amendment precedents, applies to a case involving two private persons regarding a private matter;
- Whether the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment trumps its freedom of religion and peaceful assembly; and
- Whether an individual attending a family member’s funeral constitutes a "captive audience" who is entitled to state protection from unwanted communication.
Law professor Deana Pollard Sacks, who presented a historical analysis of cases and issues significant to this case that was published by the Yale Law Journal
Yale Law Journal
The Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...
, concluded:
Briefs
Several news and civil rights organizations filed amicus briefsAmicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
in support of Phelps, including the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1970, that provides free legal assistance to and on behalf of journalists. A number of prominent journalists presently sit on the organization's steering committee, including Dan Rather, and Judy...
, and twenty one other media organizations, including National Public Radio, Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, the Newspaper Association of America
Newspaper Association of America
The Newspaper Association of America is a trade association representing approximately 2000 newspapers in the United States and Canada. Member newspapers represented by the NAA include large daily papers, non-daily and small-market publications, as well as digital and multiplatform...
, and others.
Other briefs were filed in favor of Snyder as well, including one by Senate Majority and Minority Leaders
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
and Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
, and forty other members of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
,
a number of veterans groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
and the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
,
the John Marshall Veterans Legal Support Center and Clinic, and another by Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, forty-seven other States and the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Supreme Court decision
United States v. Stevens
United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 1577 was an April 20, 2010 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled that the version of 18 U.S.C...
in 2010), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phelps, upholding the Fourth Circuit's decision. Chief Justice John Roberts
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
(as in the Stevens case) wrote the majority opinion stating "What Westboro said, in the whole context of how and where it chose to say it, is entitled to 'special protection' under the First Amendment and that protection cannot be overcome by a jury finding that the picketing was outrageous".
The court's opinion also stated that the memorial service was not disturbed, saying, "Westboro stayed well away from the memorial service, Snyder could see no more than the tops of the picketers' signs, and there is no indication that the picketing interfered with the funeral service itself". The decision also declined to expand the "captive audience doctrine", saying that Snyder was not in a state where he was coerced to hear the negative speech.
Justice Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....
wrote a concurring opinion, emphasizing his view that the decision related only to picketing, and did not take Westboro Baptist Church's on-line publications that attacked the Snyder family into consideration.
Justice Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
, as in the Stevens case, was the lone dissenting justice in this case, beginning his dissent with, "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case". He concluded, "In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims like petitioner".
See also
- Hustler Magazine v. FalwellHustler Magazine v. FalwellIn Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 , the United States Supreme Court held, in a unanimous 8–0 decision , that the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee prohibits awarding damages to public figures to compensate for emotional distress intentionally inflicted upon them.Thus,...
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States established the standard of First Amendment protection against defamation claims brought by private individuals...
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanNew York Times Co. v. SullivanNew York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 , was a United States Supreme Court case which established the actual malice standard which has to be met before press reports about public officials or public figures can be considered to be defamation and libel; and hence allowed free reporting of the...
- Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept.
- First Amendment to the United States ConstitutionFirst Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
- Intentional infliction of emotional distressIntentional infliction of emotional distressIntentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort claim of recent origin for intentional conduct that results in extreme emotional distress. Some courts and commentators have substituted mental for emotional, but the tort is the same...
- Freedom of speechFreedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
- Fighting wordsFighting wordsFighting words are written or spoken words, generally expressed to incite hatred or violence from their target. Specific definitions, freedoms, and limitations of fighting words vary by jurisdiction...
- Miller testMiller testThe Miller test , is the United States Supreme Court's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and can be prohibited.-History and details:The Miller test was developed in the...
External links
- Snyder v. Phelps, Full text of the opinion
- Docket No. 09-751; Albert Snyder v. Fred W. Phelps, Sr., et al on Supreme Court website
- SCOTUSBlog wiki on Snyder v. Phelps
- Oral Arguments on Oyez.org
- Archive of Snyder v. Phelps coverage from Albert Snyder's hometown newspaper