Snyder Vs Phelps Case Study

648 Words2 Pages

Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S. 433 (2011), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that speech on a public sidewalk about a public issue cannot be liable for tort or emotional distress, even if the speech is found to be offensive.

The Westboro Baptist Church was founded by Fred Phelps in Topeka, Kansas, in 1955. The church and its members believe that God hates and punishes the United States for its tolerance of homosexuality, especially in America’s military. For over 20 years, the Westboro Baptist Church have publicized their message and frequently communicate their views by picketing, regularly at military funerals. A Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was killed in Iraq in the line of duty. Snyder’s father selected the Catholic church in their hometown of Westminster, Maryland as the site for his son’s funeral. Phelps became aware of Matthew Snyder’s funeral and decided to travel to Maryland along with six other members of the Westboro Baptist Church to picket. The Westboro Baptist Church notified the police in advance of their intent to picket at the time of the funeral. The protestors complied with the police instructions in staging their protest. …show more content…

The location of the protest was on public land adjacent to a public street behind a temporary fence. The distance between the protestors and the church where the funeral was held was approximately 1,000 feet. The Westboro picketers displayed their signs for about 30 minutes before the funeral began and sang hymns and recited verses from the Bible. None of the Westboro Baptist Church members went to the cemetery or entered the Catholic church property. They did not use or yell profanity and there was no violence associated with their

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