lps. SCOTUSblog's Lyle Denniston writes that in Snyder v. Phelps, the high court will focus on "a significant question of First Amendment law: the degree of constitutional protection given to private remarks made about a private person, occurring in a largely private setting." Phelps and members of his Westboro Baptist Church, which consists largely of his relatives, picket funerals of soldiers as part of their campaign attacking America for allegedly being tolerant of lesbians and gay men. That campaign involves posting invective on a Web site called "godhatesfags.com," and hoisting signs at soldiers' funerals with messages like "God Hates the USA," and "Semper fi fags." When Phelps and members of his outfit picketed the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder several years ago in Maryland, his father, Albert, lodged a lawsuit against Phelps, winning a $5 million jury verdict.
But that verdict was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Even though the appeals court found Phelps' messages "utterly distasteful," it said they were protected by the First Amendment. The Fourth Circuit, as noted by the Religion Clause blog, also concluded that Phelps' Web site postings concerning the dead solider were "imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric intended to spark debate."
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