Thursday, October 7, 2010

Inside the Supreme Court's Free Speech Showdown

 
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church picket in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C.
"Is this a joke?" a befuddled young woman asked as she stood outside the Supreme Court the morning of Oct. 6. She was staring at members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, who were wearing sweatshirts emblazoned with the church's website, godhatesfags.com. A nine-year-old boy, a grandson of Westboro founder Fred Phelps, stood as tall as his tiny body allowed, holding a "God Hates You" sign. But these churchgoers, who believe all Americans are hell-bound because of the country's tolerance for gays, weren't just shouting about the evils of homosexuality. They were also demeaning Jews — because Jews killed Jesus, don't you know? — and calling Catholic churches dog kennels because, as one Westboro member explained, priests are gay and molest children.
Huh?
Westboro members have carried out hate-filled pickets like this one every day for the past 19 years, staging these protests outside such places as high school plays and military funerals. On Oct. 6, they had assembled in front of the Supreme Court as it prepared to hear oral arguments in the case of Snyder v. Phelps, which pits the grieving father of a Marine killed in Iraq against Westboro, a 70-member congregation in Topeka that consists almost entirely of Fred Phelps's extended family. (Read a case study on why spewing hate at funerals is still free speech.)
In March 2006, seven Westboro members picketed the Maryland funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who died when his Humvee crashed in Iraq. The Westboro protestors flew more than 1,000 miles so they could hold signs with messages like "Thank God For Dead Soldiers," "You're Going to Hell," and "Thank God For IEDs." Matthew's father, Albert Snyder, citing the physical and mental trauma that resulted from being confronted by these picketers at his only son's funeral, filed a lawsuit against Westboro. A jury found the church liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and civil conspiracy, and awarded Snyder $10.9 million in damages (which the trial judge later reduced to $5 million). The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, reversed the verdict, ruling that the First Amendment protected Westboro's speech. (See photos of the history of the First Amendment.)
The emotionally charged case, which raises such questions as when public commentary becomes personal harassment and whether there should be any limits on freedom of speech at the funerals of private citizens, has received more attention than any other before the Supreme Court this term. The line to get one of the coveted seats inside the court reserved for the public snaked around the block toward Independence Avenue. "I got a golden ticket," bragged David Overhuls, a second-year student at Georgetown Law School who had camped out overnight for the hearing; when he arrived at 10 p.m., about 40 people were already waiting in line. Some had arrived on Monday.
In the run-up to the oral arguments, eager college kids and law students argued details of the case with several members of the Phelps family (the nine-year-old not included). The discourse was civil — for the most part. "Appellate courts get s-t wrong all the time," Overhuls shouted during one of the more heated exchanges. When one of the Phelpses paused to check a text message, another student mocked him, saying, "God hates cell phones."
Meanwhile, Sam Garrett, a freshman at George Washington, stripped down to his underwear and held a picket sign of his own: "Fred Phelps Wishes He Were Hot Like Me." Garrett, who is gay, sashayed over to where the Phelpses were assembled, to the delight of the youthful crowd.

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